In light of Halloween coming in a few days, what some might say is a “spooky” organization has been in the news recently in the fight for reproductive rights!
Upon the Dobbs v. Jackson SCOTUS verdict, many states began cracking down on their laws surrounding access to reproductive healthcare; one being Indiana. Indiana’s reproductive health laws post-verdict include a complete ban of abortions with very small exceptions in the case of rape/incest (in which case a pregnant person would only be able to receive an abortion up to 10 weeks post-fertilization) and in the case of a life-threatening pregnancy (in which case a person would only be able to receive an abortion up to 20 weeks post-fertilization).
In recent news, The Satanic Temple is suing the state of Indiana as they are saying its strict new laws violate religious freedoms granted by the US constitution and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act— which was passed by Indiana lawmakers in 2015 (and was actually signed by former VP Mike Pence). The act says that the government cannot “burden a person’s exercise of religion.” The act, which has been criticized for opening the door to “unequal treatment” toward folks in the LGBTQ+ community (as it is mostly in favor of conservative Christian beliefs), is now ironically being used by The Satanic Temple, and therefore also challenging the legitimacy of the ‘religious freedom’ in the act.
The Satanic Temple, members of which do not actually believe in Satan (they are generally atheists), is known to be a politically active organization in the fight for secularism, reproductive rights, and challenging policies and laws being enforced in the name of religious freedom, mostly ones that work in favor of the Christian community. The Temple is a tax-exempt, legit religious organization, focused on being a voice for rational and scientific thought, and prevent other religions from creeping too far into public and political life.
The members of the Satanic Temple follow a set of seven tenets, one being “One’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone.” Therefore, the group is able to fight the restrictive reproductive healthcare laws and policies in the name of ‘Freedom of Religion’ — just as other religious groups can evoke laws/policies in their favor. The principle of using freedom of religion in relation to The Satanic Temple could potentially help people in other restrictive states fight for their rights as well!