You would hope that this was accepted and acted upon. This isn’t the case as we see the aftermath of the overturn of the abortion law. It was reversed after nearly 50 years because it made abortions no longer protected at the federal level.
13 states have passed laws that will ban abortion within 30 days. One religious group following the previously-stated principle is standing up to this ruling because it encourages self-empowerment and bodily autonomy. The Satanic Temple is a religious group. We got in touch with Malcolm Jarry, one of the founding members of TST, to get a better idea of the situation. Let’s peel back the layers of a complex onion with lots of lore, rumors, and prejudice surrounding the group.
The Satanic Temple is taking a stance in securing abortion rights for its members, which will result in multiple lawsuits.
If you grew up in a Christian household, were taught in a Christian school, or have attended a Church service at least once, you will know that Hell is the opposite of Heaven. The worst of the worst will burn for the rest of eternity. I don’t care if they have tattoos.
The Satanic Temple is again at the forefront of fighting for human rights in the United States. The group launched multiple actions and lawsuits related to the separation of church and state after being recognized by the IRS as a tax-exempt church in 2019.
The Supreme Court overturned the decision on abortion. A religious exemption will be the only available challenge to many restrictions on abortion access, according to a statement released by the group.
The Supreme Court overturned the decision on abortion. The only challenge to abortion restrictions will be a religious exemption.
“The news that Roe v Wade has been overturned is extremely distressing. The Satanic Temple (TST) has nevertheless positioned itself to try to protect religious abortion access for our members,” the public release read. The religious group has over half a million members.
The abortion ritual was created by the ministers for The Satanic Temple. The purpose of the ritual is not to convince a person to have an abortion but to instill confidence in them.
TST argues that subjecting a woman to a waiting period is the same as the government interfering with a religious ritual. The Supreme Court has repeatedly affirmed religious rights, such as taxpayers having to fund religious schools in Maine on the basis of religious freedom.
“The Satanic Temple is currently suing the state of Texas to protect our civil rights,” the post said. “We have requested alternative science-based abortion counseling in Minnesota. We will also be using the FDA for unrestricted religious access to Mifepristone and Misoprostol.”
The drugs used to induce abortion are only available with a doctor’s prescription, and the doctor must adhere to any state restrictions before giving them.
According to PolitiFact, opponents of the group have argued that abortion is not a protected religious practice. Matthew Kezhaya, the lawyer for The Satanic Temple, argued that abortion can be both secular and religious depending on the context. You can read about the lawsuits here.
One of the group’s seven Fundamental Tenets is “one’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone.
“The future is always dependent on people willing to stand up and fight to protect their rights,” said Malcolm Jarry. “There are many good people who want to defend their rights but they don’t know what to do or they are led astray by bad actors with ill-conceived self-indulgent agendas.”
“For instance, there had been a groundswell of public support to engage in instigating police reform. The approach did not have to be antagonistic, but rather a process by which people, who are employed to keep the peace and the system in which they operate, become dramatically better at meeting the needs of their communities. Instead, a movement to eliminate the police dominated the discourse and undermined the implementation of needed reforms.”
“That whole discussion has ended and the revolutionary impulses that drove that movement have dissipated. The opportunity for change was squandered multiple times and now people are afraid to go there. That is unfortunate. Developments such as that make us a bit cynical about the future, but if we were not hopeful, we would not be taking on the challenges we engage in.”
There is a list of things to consider for an effective protest. “People must [protest] in a manner that is constructive and not a narcissistic exercise, where the struggle is about the protester as opposed to the objective,” Malcolm explained.
TST believes that abortion is a central part of a religious ritual that supports bodily autonomy.
Malcolm explained that “if TST wins, then we will have secured access to abortion for our members without any unnecessary interference from the state. That means no waiting periods. No narrated ultrasounds. No forced counseling.”
“The long-term outcome would be the recognition that religious liberty can be used to advance civil rights as opposed to being an expression of perverse moral righteousness utilized to deprive others of their rights.”
However, “if TST loses, it would be a consequence of one of two things. Because the law is so clearly on our side, either the ruling would diminish religious liberty in a way that impacts all religious organizations and thereby overturns many SCOTUS rulings, or the ruling would be biased and unjust in which case we would find the opportunity to file new lawsuits until we find a judge who has the integrity to apply the law when writing their decision.”
“The soundbite that ‘life begins at conception has been interpreted and accepted by many as meaning that a fetus at any stage of development has personhood. That deceptive language turned a fringe group of radicals into a mainstream movement. A scientifically accurate soundbite needs to be invoked that undermines this dishonest claim and instigates rational discourse.”
People are in agreement with TST’s stance. Let us know what you think in the comments.
