To promote The Satanic Temple’s (TST’s) religious abortion ritual, TST is raffling a free abortion in its campaign to advance religious reproductive rights. The abortion can be medical or surgical and is transferable upon request.
TST’s new Satanic abortion ritual, which is a spiritual experience designed to instill confidence and self-worth in accordance with TST’s religious beliefs, offers exemptions to many existing abortion regulations on the basis of religious liberty for those seeking to terminate their pregnancy. In many states, patients may be required to endure unnecessary waiting periods, mandatory counseling, forced viewing of sonograms, and may be given unscientific reading materials that are designed to elicit shame in an attempt to sway their decision.
TST proclaims that those who practice the Satanic abortion ritual are exempt from being subjected to these and other unnecessary state regulations that impede the abortion procedure and force TST members to violate their deeply-held beliefs of bodily autonomy and scientifically-reasoned personal choice. The Satanic abortion ritual consists of the recitation of TST’s Third and Fifth Tenets and a personal affirmation that is cerimoniously intertwined with an abortion.
TST asserts its abortion access exemptions are founded on the protections of state Religious Freedom Restoration Acts (RFRA), which generally prohibit the government from substantially interfering with a person’s free exercise of religion. This law was famously affirmed in the 2014 Hobby Lobby case, Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, 573 U.S. 682 (2014). Hobby Lobby successfully argued that it did not have to cover the costs of certain contraceptives for their female employees despite being mandated to do so under the Affordable Care Act because its owners religiously believe that contraceptives are abortifacients.
TST religious reproductive rights spokesperson Jane Essex says, “Satanists seeking to terminate their pregnancy often face state mandates that demand they violate their deeply-held beliefs in order to get an abortion. No Christian would accept a mandatory waiting period before they can partake in Communion. No Muslim would tolerate a law that insists state counseling is necessary before they can celebrate Ramadan. For states to obligate that Satanists must renounce their religious views by complying with these laws is not only morally reprehensible, it contravenes RFRA laws and our nation’s founding principle of religious freedom. Satanists demonstrate their loyalty and patriotism when they exercise their rights by partaking in the abortion ritual.”
To enter the raffle to win an abortion courtesy of The Satanic Temple, visit https://bit.ly/TST-Abortions. The raffle will close on September 31st, and any donation made will serve to protect religious abortions and advance reproductive rights around the country.
