The Satanic Abortion Loophole (Script, Sources, & Resources)

Good morning, good news! There may be a huge loophole in the Texas abortion ban that would allow any woman free access to a medically-induced abortion up to 11 weeks into their pregnancy, and they can’t be sued for it under the existing law. The only catch is that you’d have to officially say that the abortion it’s part of a Satanic Ritual. Seriously, this is actually a really clever idea and legal strategy being pursued by The Satanic Temple - which is a real tax-exempt Church in the United States - except they don’t actually believe in a theological Satan, instead the Satanic Temple is a human rights group that was created specifically be able to apply the loopholes and special treatment that religious organizations get from the government, to anybody who wants to make use of the same legal principles. In this case, the Satanic Temple is arguing that being able to access and take an abortion pill is a sacrament that is specific to their religion, and they’re not lying - the third tenet of their beliefs says “One’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone”, meaning that laws specifically designed to control what you can do with your body, go against their religion beliefs. Lawyers from the Temple are currently petitioning the Food and Drug Administration to request that it approves medically supervised access to abortion-inducing drugs as part of its “sacramental” abortion ritual - under the same exact law that allows Indigenous groups access to peyote for religious rituals. And this loophole is actually not just a clever way to get around a religiously-motivated form of oppression against women - it actually sets a really important precedent with the Supreme Court during a very fragile, and religiously motivated attack on our civil liberties.

If you think the religiously motivated ban on abortions in Texas is bad, then I’ve got Good Morning, Bad News for you - the Supreme Court has been pushing religious doctrine into our legal system for decades, and it’s only getting worse. Since the 1970s, the Supreme Court has been majority conservative and the last four Supreme Court chief justices have been politically active Republicans appointed by Republican presidents. As a result, the court has repeatedly ruled in favor of giving religious groups special and preferential legal treatment, even when it runs counter to established equal rights laws. In the last decade there have been 13 religious liberty cases ruled on by the Supreme Court, and in 12 of them the Court sided with religious groups - which in almost every case has been Christianity. These rulings have allowed businesses to discriminate against customers on the basis of sexual orientation, refuse to fund preventative medical care on the basis on being anti-contraception, and they even allow public tax money to be used to fund religious schools. In spite of a very clear separation between church and state in the constitution, the state actively and repeatedly grants exceptions to codified law for arbitrary religious customs. So, The Satanic Temple was created to essentially say, “if you’re allowed to do it just because you claim to be religious, then we claim to be religious too, give us our exemption.” They don’t really believe in Satan, they’re a human rights advocacy group, and the very fact that they USE Satan as the figurehead to their organizations shows just how absurd and outdated the intersection of politics and religion is in the United States. Now, with a purely religiously fueled law on the books, designed unambiguously to punish women and anyone who wants to help women who are in need of a medical procedure, the Satanic Temple is fighting, not just for better abortion laws, but for laws that protect people from arbitrary religious doctrine designed to harm people who disagree with that doctrine. So in the interest of freedom, liberty, and justice for all: hail satan and fuck Texas.

You can join The Satanic Temple by going here: https://thesatanictemple.com/pages/join-us

Here is a list of resources to donate to or research to try and help women in Texas affected by this ridiculous law: (via: https://www.fastcompany.com/90672132/how-to-help-abortion-rights-activists-in-texas-8-things-you-can-do-right-now)

• TEA Fund: The Texas Equal Access Fund offers funding for low-income people seeking abortions who cannot afford it, and also advocates for increased access to abortions as a fundamental healthcare right.
• Avow: Avow organizes Texas voters to campaign for an end to anti-abortion policies in the state, and runs a political action committee that works to elect leaders who support access.
• ACLU Texas: The ACLU of Texas has worked to defend civil liberties in the state since 1938.
• Fund Texas Choice: Fund Texas Choice funds travel to abortions for Texas residents, whether their appointments are in or out of state, including bus or plane tickets and hotels.
• Whole Woman’s Health Alliance: Whole Woman’s Health Alliance aims to end the stigma around abortion in society, and runs a network of clinics offering abortion resources.
• The Lilith Fund: The Lilith Fund is the oldest abortion fund in Texas, offering direct financial assistance for those seeking abortions.
• National Abortion Federation: A national pro-choice group that supports abortion providers across the country.
• Center for Reproductive Rights: A global legal advocacy group that has strengthened reproductive health laws in the United States, as well as Europe, Africa, and Latin America.