Federal Court Weighs in on Satanic Temple’s ‘Satanic Abortion Ritual’ Lawsuit

A federal court in Texas rejected a lawsuit last week by the Satanic Temple that argued aborting unborn babies is a satanic “ritual” and therefore the state’s pro-life laws violate its members’ First Amendment rights.

In 2021, The Satanic Temple filed its initial lawsuit against Texas Health and Human Services Executive Commissioner Cecile Young claiming violations of free speech and religious freedom. 

The group took issue with the state’s waiting policy and informed consent policy that requires a pregnant mother be given the opportunity to hear her unborn baby’s heartbeat and see the child’s image on an ultrasound. 

“The Satanic Abortion Ritual is a sacrament which surrounds and includes the abortive act. It is designed to combat feelings of guilt, doubt, and shame and to empower the member to assert or reassert power and control over their own mind and body,” the group wrote in its original lawsuit.

Then, last December, the group filed an amended complaint arguing the law prohibits its members from performing abortion rituals. 

“SB 8’s ban on abortions after six weeks infringes upon our members’ rights to engage with their chosen religion and to participate in religious rites and rituals,” the Satanic Temple’s Director of Campaign Operations, Erin Helian, claimed in a statement when they filed the amended lawsuit. “In accordance with our Third Tenet, The Satanic Temple will push back against the Texas legislature’s violation of our members’ bodily autonomy and freedom of choice.”

The federal court threw out the case calling it cryptic and lacking merit.

“The group’s complaint was too spare and cryptic to support its standing to sue Texas Health and Human Services Executive Commissioner Cecile Young or overcome her sovereign immunity on its claims for violations of the First Amendment’s free speech, free exercise, and establishment clauses,” explained Mary Anne Pazanowski of Bloomberg Law.

The Satanic Temple has been challenging pro-life laws in various states over the years. And while a number of those lawsuits have failed, Arielle Del Turco, director at Family Research Council’s Center for Religious Liberty, believes the group is not out to change abortion legislation, but to make headlines. 

“The Satanic Temple considers it a victory when they can undermine sincerely held religious beliefs by pretending their legal complaints based on ‘religious freedom’ are legitimate and deserve the same consideration given to religions like Christianity,” she told The Washington Stand. “It’s good to see that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas rejected The Satanic Temple’s lawsuit. People know this is a stunt, and we shouldn’t get caught up in their game.”

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