Satanists lose bid to evade Texas’ pro-life laws outlawing ‘abortion ritual’

A Satanist group has been blocked from attempting to bypass Texas’ pro-life laws, after a court branded its legal challenge “willfully deficient”.

The Satanic Temple initially filed legal action in 2021 against Texas’ ‘Heartbeat Bill’, which outlaws most abortions from around six weeks, and amended its lawsuit for the third time after the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade last year.

The Temple claimed to be exempt from such laws because the protections interfere with its “ritual abortion”, but a federal District Court found that it had provided “almost no factual detail and makes broad, vague allegations without even identifying the laws being challenged”.

‘Stunt’

Judge Charles Eskridge concluded that the Temple’s actions were “no doubt intentional” due to the changes in the law, and matched it with “the mulish litigation conduct” by its lawyer who has been challenged by other courts over his “obstinate conduct”.

Arielle Del Turco, Director of Family Research Council’s Center for Religious Liberty, commented: “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”.

“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.”

The Temple has filed similar lawsuits in the states of Missouri, Idaho and Indiana, which are still awaiting court judgment.

Ritual

Earlier this year, the Temple’s co-founder Lucien Greaves attempted to justify its legal action against pro-life laws.

In a sympathetic interview with Guardian journalist Adam Gabbatt, Greaves claimed that the “minority religion” is prevented from practising its beliefs and must “play the long game” in challenging the laws.

Of the Temple’s “seven fundamental tenets”, number three claims: “One’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone.” During its abortion ritual, the mother views their reflection before taking deep breaths and reciting two of the tenets.