A new Texas law that bans abortions after six weeks into pregnancy has been receiving backlash from people who are pro-choice. Now it is yet facing another legal action, this time from Satanists.
The Massachusetts-based Satanic Temple sent a letter to the United States Food and Drug Administration, arguing that abortion is a faith-based right of its members. The letter also referred to another Texas law, which is just a signature away by Governor Greg Abbott, stating that it will restrict women’s access to abortion pills against FDA guidelines, Hill Reporter.com reported.
The Satanic Temple stated in its letter that its members should have access to pills, which is stated in the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the law that permits Native Americans to have access to peyote, used in rituals.
SB 8 “imposes an undue burden on the ability of TST members to undergo the Satanic Abortion Ritual” within the first 24 weeks of pregnancy, the group said.
In the letter sent to FDA posted on its website, it says “to request that TST be able to access abortifacients without being subjected to the agency’s regulations. Normally, access to Misoprostol (a first-trimester abortifacient) requires a prescription, and Mifepristone (the second drug in the medical abortion regimen) can only be obtained through an approved prescriber and can only be dispensed in accordance with specific guidelines. However, TST has requested that we can directly supply Satanists who wish to undergo an abortion in a religious context with these abortifacients.”
In a statement, Satanic Temple spokesperson Lucien Greaves said: “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.”
Greaves also told Fortune that the group maintains bodily autonomy and science sacrosanct, and that abortion is an important part of their 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,” he said.
This new Texas law that bans pregnant women to have an abortion after six weeks into pregnancy and allows private persons to sue any pregnant women and anybody who assists them is one of the 666 new laws that went to effect on Sept. 1. This law is also considered the most restrictive law in the county.
The law only exempts women who have a life-threatening medical emergency. Victims of rape or incest do not qualify.
