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By Alexa Glista, Features Editor
On Sept. 1, 2021, Texas’s new controversial anti-abortion law, Senate Bill 8, went into effect. Senate Bill 8, referred to as the “Heartbeat Bill”, prohibits abortions after six weeks of pregnancy with no exceptions for incest or rape.[1] These restrictions on abortion have made the “Heartbeat Bill” the strongest anti-abortion law in the country.[2] Twenty-four hours after the bill took effect the U.S. Supreme Court declared it would not block the law. In response to this decision, The Satanic Temple, a nontheistic group that is recognized by the IRS as a religion, announced that it would argue religious exemption from abortion restrictions by invoking the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).[3]
In the Supreme Court decisions of Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, it was established that abortion is a Constitutional right, but states can still pass laws that restrict access to abortion.[4] However, critics of the Heartbeat Bill say it doesn’t just restrict access to abortion, but that it has effectively shut down all abortion while protecting the state from judicial review.[5] Firstly, the bill disallows abortion after six weeks, which is the earliest point in pregnancy when a fetus’s heartbeat can be detected.[6] However, most women are not aware they are pregnant at six weeks, and it is estimated that 85% of abortions take place after this period.[7] Secondly, the bill allows any private Texan citizen to sue anyone of “aiding and abetting” an abortion for $10,000.[8] Critics are also arguing that this has cause clinics to stop all abortions, from the fear of the overwhelming amount of potential liability.[9] Proponents of the bill claim that since no state official is enforcing the law, abortion providers have no one to sue.[10] This is why The Satanic Temple has decided to argue through the RFRA.
Under RFRA, “the government cannot burden the free exercise of religion unless: 1) it has a compelling reason for doing so, and 2) the government acts in the least restrictive way possible to achieve its purpose.” [11] The RFRA holds its legality on a section of the 14th Amendment, and it has been interpreted by courts to require state compliance with the First Amendment.[12] Congress has previously amended the act to only apply to federal entities, including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).[13] It has already been determined that the RFRA allows Native Americans to have access to drugs for religious rituals, and Satanists argue that the same logic applies in this case.[14] Misoprostol and Mifepristone are two drugs used in medical abortions, and The Satanic Temple describes taking the medication as a “ritual”.[15] The Satanic Temple sent a letter to the FDA, in which they stated that its prescription requirements for the drugs illegally burden their abortion ritual.[16] However, these drugs are only available with a doctor’s prescription, and the doctor must adhere to any state restrictions before providing them.[17] Included in the letter, The Satanic Temple proposed an accommodation where Satanic women can obtain a doctor’s for these medications, and then receive medication directly from The Satanic Temple.[18]
Satanic Temple spokesperson, Lucien Greaves, says, “Satanists hold bodily autonomy and science sacrosanct, and abortion rituals are an important part of those beliefs. The battle for abortion rights is largely a battle of competing religious viewpoints, and our viewpoint that the nonviable fetus is part of the impregnated host is fortunately protected under Religious Liberty laws.”[19]
Texas Republican state Sen. Angela Paxton criticized The Satanic Temple in her latest pitch for donations. Paxton says, “As horrific as it sounds, the leading proponents of abortion literally worship Satan. Now more than ever the pro-life movement must unite to be a voice for the unborn and a force for good. This is a battle of good versus evil.”[20] However despite its name, the Satanic Temple does not actually worship Satan. Instead, it has acted an activist institution, with the intent to fight the proliferation of religion in U.S. policy and law, especially regarding anti-abortion laws.
In 2015, The Satanic Temple filed a series of lawsuits against the state of Missouri, regarding their abortion laws.[21] In Missouri, women seeking abortions are required to view sonograms and revied a booklet stating, “The life of each human being begins at conception. Abortion will terminate the life of a separate, unique, living human being.”[22] After, the women are required to wait 72 hours before they may receive an abortion.[23] The Satanic Temple argued that these pre-abortion requirements were an unconstitutional and that Missouri’s RFRA law provided a legal basis for Satanic women to exempt themselves from these procedures.[24] However, the court did not provide an answer for whether the RFRA protected members of The Satanic Temple from abortion restrictions, but instead dismissed these cases on procedural grounds.[25] The Missouri Supreme Court ruled that since the plaintiff, was not pregnant by the time her case made its way through the courts, she no longer needed an abortion and therefore had no legal standing to sue.[26] The Satanic Temple appealed this ruling to the Untied States Supreme Court, which declined to hear it.[27]
To prevent similar rulings, The Satanic Temple created an “abortion ritual” in which a woman affirms her own bodily autonomy, obtains an abortion, and then concludes the ritual.[28] Now that receiving an abortion is a part of a ritual, The Satanic Temple argues, that a woman would have legal standing to sue, as it would be similar to the government interfering with a baptism or communion.[29] The Temple may now finally get an answer of whether their religious practices regarding abortion can be protected under RFRA laws, with their request to the FDA.
[1] Shannon Najmabadi, Gov. Greg Abbott signs into law one of the nation’s strictest abortion measures, banning procedure as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, The Texas Tribune (May 19, 2021 11:00 a.m. CST), https://www.texastribune.org/2021/05/18/texas-heartbeat-bill-abortions-law/
[2] Id.
[3] Joseph P. Laycock, How the Satanic Temple is using ‘abortion rituals’ to claim religious liberty against the Texas’ ‘heartbeat bill’, The Conversation (September 22, 2021 8:58 a.m. EDT), https://theconversation.com/how-the-satanic-temple-is-using-abortion-rituals-to-claim-religious-liberty-against-the-texas-heartbeat-bill-167755
[4] Id.
[5] Id.
[6] Id.
[7] Id.
[8] Id.
[9] Joseph P. Laycock, How the Satanic Temple is using ‘abortion rituals’ to claim religious liberty against the Texas’ ‘heartbeat bill’, The Conversation (September 22, 2021 8:58 a.m. EDT), https://theconversation.com/how-the-satanic-temple-is-using-abortion-rituals-to-claim-religious-liberty-against-the-texas-heartbeat-bill-167755
[10] Id.
[11] Id.
[12] Morgan O’Hanlon, Satanic Temple challenges Texas abortion restrictions for its members, claiming religious exemptions, The Dallas Morning News (Sep. 17, 2021 4:41 p.m. CDT), https://www.dallasnews.com/news/texas/2021/09/17/satanic-temple-challenges-texas-abortion-restrictions-for-its-members-claiming-religious-exemptions/
[13] Id.
[14] Id.
[15] Id.
[16] Joseph P. Laycock, How the Satanic Temple is using ‘abortion rituals’ to claim religious liberty against the Texas’ ‘heartbeat bill’, The Conversation (September 22, 2021 8:58 a.m. EDT), https://theconversation.com/how-the-satanic-temple-is-using-abortion-rituals-to-claim-religious-liberty-against-the-texas-heartbeat-bill-167755
[17] Id.
[18] Id.
[19] Morgan O’Hanlon, Satanic Temple challenges Texas abortion restrictions for its members, claiming religious exemptions, The Dallas Morning News (Sep. 17, 2021 4:41 p.m. CDT), https://www.dallasnews.com/news/texas/2021/09/17/satanic-temple-challenges-texas-abortion-restrictions-for-its-members-claiming-religious-exemptions/
[20] Id.
[21] Joseph P. Laycock, How the Satanic Temple is using ‘abortion rituals’ to claim religious liberty against the Texas’ ‘heartbeat bill’, The Conversation (September 22, 2021 8:58 a.m. EDT), https://theconversation.com/how-the-satanic-temple-is-using-abortion-rituals-to-claim-religious-liberty-against-the-texas-heartbeat-bill-167755
[22] Id.
[23] Id.
[24] Id.
[25] Id.
[26] Joseph P. Laycock, How the Satanic Temple is using ‘abortion rituals’ to claim religious liberty against the Texas’ ‘heartbeat bill’, The Conversation (September 22, 2021 8:58 a.m. EDT), https://theconversation.com/how-the-satanic-temple-is-using-abortion-rituals-to-claim-religious-liberty-against-the-texas-heartbeat-bill-167755
[27] Id.
[28] Id.
[29] Id.
