The Satanic Temple has filed a lawsuit against the current abortion laws in the state of Idaho. The lawsuit claims that the laws violate religious freedom, property rights, and involuntary servitude.
The Satanic Temple (also known as TST) filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court on September 30, a week after filing a similar suit in Indiana. As for Idaho, Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Raymond Edward Patricco is appointed to the case.
Today, The Satanic Temple filed a suit in IN declaring that abortion restrictions violate its members’ religious & property rights, unconstitutionally discriminates against certain groups & represents involuntary servitude in violation of 13th Amendment.https://t.co/wXTX3Wjzyf
— Lucien Greaves (@LucienGreaves) September 21, 2022
The case is against the state's trigger law, which bans almost every type of abortion, and the civil enforcement law, which permits family members to institute legal proceedings against medical providers who perform abortions. However, both of these laws allow an exception when the pregnant woman is a victim of rape or incest, and saving the pregnant person's life is also prioritized. The Satanic Temple requests the court to block these laws.
Based on the policy to not comment on a case where the legal prosecution is still pending, The Idaho Attorney General's Office refrained from commenting, and the office of the Governor of Idaho, Brad Little, could not be reached for comments.
The Satanic Temple has 1.5 million members worldwide, 3,500 of which reside in Idaho. The Temple claims it reveres the metaphorical Satan described in the epic poem 'Paradise Lost,' but they do not worship him. The Satanic Temple, founded in 2013, stands for secularism and regards Satan as a literary figure who is the defender of personal sovereignty against the dictates of religious authority.
The Salem-based Satanic Temple is suing Indiana and Idaho in federal court over their abortion bans, arguing they violate the religious rights of people in those states. https://t.co/EgLYR2adei
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) October 4, 2022
The members must follow the seven religious tenets of The Temple, which contain the belief that a person should have total control over their own body and personal beliefs should be on terms with the best scientific understanding that person currently has about the world around them. Having respect for the freedom of others is also stated in the fourth tenet.
Lawyers on the Temple’s behalf assert that the uterus of an involuntarily pregnant woman should be treated as a physical thing where property rights can be applied since eggs can be either retained or removed. The uterus itself can be removed if needed. The lawsuit challenges that these property rights cannot be violated without proper compensation according to the fifth and fourteenth amendments. The temple also claims that under the abortion law, an involuntarily pregnant woman would be forced to provide a fetus with hormones, nutrients, oxygen, body heat, and antibodies, protecting the unborn child from external dangers. The Temple asserts that this amounts to involuntary servitude, violating the thirteenth amendment.
"The Idaho abortion bans provide no compensation or consideration to an involuntarily pregnant woman for providing the services necessary to sustain the life of a protected unborn child that occupies and uses her uterus," the complaint reads. "The … (pregnant people) are put into a condition of involuntary servitude in violation of the Thirteenth Amendment."
The Temple also claimed that the state discriminates against many pregnant women by only permitting abortion for those who were raped or were in an incestuous relationship but not for accidental pregnancy, hence violating the equal protection clause.
And finally, the organization claims the violation of religious freedom. The state's abortion law forbids the members of the Temple from engaging in the "Satanic Abortion Ritual." In this ritual, a pregnant person is reminded that their body is theirs and “not subject to violation by others.” After the procedure, the Temple member recites a personal affirmation.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, the states of Idaho and Indiana have passed laws barring government interference in religious freedom in the past, along with 19 other states.
TST’s Idaho lawsuit is not the only one the state faces for its new abortion laws. Last August, the Department of Justice sued the state, saying that the laws violate the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act.
UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh says that The Satanic Temple’s arguments are valid. “Religious freedom in America protects all sorts of religions, so long as it is sincerely believed,” he said.
