HOUSTON - The Satanic Temple (TST) recently filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging that certain Texas-mandated abortion restrictions violate the religious liberty of its adherents.
Court records show the suit was filed on Feb. 5. An amended complaint was filed on Feb. 12.
On behalf of Temple member "Ann Doe”, TST is suing the state for allegedly imposing medically unnecessary abortion regulations including a sonogram, a forced decision about whether to see the sonogram results, the forced listening to a narrative of the sonogram results, and a mandatory waiting period between the sonogram and the abortion.
As a tenet of its religious faith, TST believes that “the body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone,” with an understanding that the non-viable fetus is “tissue,” a part of the carrier’s body.
The Satanists’ religious liberty claim is founded on its “Abortion Ritual,” a ceremonious affirmation of religious adherence and bodily autonomy that culminates in the abortive act.
Prior to filing the lawsuit, TST’s attorney sent a letter on behalf of Ann Doe to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, which demanded an exemption from the abortion restrictions.
“I am sure Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton -- who famously spends a good deal of his time composing press releases about Religious Liberty issues in other states -- will be proud to see that Texas’s robust Religious Liberty laws, which he so vociferously champions, will prevent future Abortion Rituals from being interrupted by superfluous government restrictions meant only to shame and harass those seeking an abortion," said TST spokesperson Lucien Greaves.
According to the suit, TST’s membership exceeds 270,000 and members can be found in every state, including Texas. TST venerates (but does not worship) the biblical adversary as a promethean icon against tyranny.
Filed in the Southern District of Texas, case No. 4:21-cv-00387