by The Satanic Temple has announced the launch of an online abortion clinic, offering telehealth screenings and consultations and prescribing abortion medications to patients who wish to participate in their “religious abortion ritual.”
The group, which describes itself as a “non-theistic religious organization” and not to be confused with the Church of Satan, said it hopes to expand clinics to states that have restricted abortion following a Supreme Court ruling that ended abortion. Roe vs. Wade.
The Temple called the initiative “Samuel Alito’s Mother’s Satanic Abortion Clinic,” in reference to the conservative Justice who drafted the majority opinion that overturned the abortion right case that had been the country’s law since 1973.
“In 1950, Samuel Alito’s mother had no options, and look what happened,” said Malcolm Jarry, co-founder of The Satanic Temple.
“Before 1973, doctors who performed abortions could lose their licenses and go to jail. The name of the clinic serves to remind people how important it is to have the right to control one’s body and the potential ramifications of losing that right,” he added.
The Temple, which claims to have more than 700,000 members, has described the program as the “world’s first religious abortion clinic.” Patients pay a pharmacy for the drug, but medical and religious services are free, he added. Patients must be in New Mexico at the time of the visit and have a New Mexico mailing address.
The clinic currently has five registered nurses on staff each week, all registered in New Mexico, and one advanced nurse who prescribes medications.
Based in Salem, Massachusetts, the Temple implements legal actions and publicity stunts to highlight the intrusion of religion into public life, using America’s religious laws to fight restrictions on access to abortion.
Last year, it sued Indiana and Idaho in federal court, arguing that the state’s abortion ban infringes on members’ rights.
The lawsuit alleges that a pregnant woman has the right to terminate her pregnancy in accordance with the temple’s Tenet III – “A person’s body is inviolable, subject only to one’s own will” – and its “Satanic Rite of Abortion”, which includes “a personal statement that is ceremoniously intertwined with abortion,” it explains on its website.
The Temple cites the Religious Freedom Restoration Act to argue that the ritual exempts its members “from enduring unnecessary and unscientific medical regulations in attempting to terminate a pregnancy.”
Samuel Alito’s Mother’s Satanic Abortion Clinic was condemned by Catholic groups even before its release. In a joint statement issued on February 7, the New Mexico Conference of Catholic Bishops said: The last thing we need in our state is a Massachusetts satanic temple to offer free ‘reproductive health’ (read abortion) services. .”
“We shudder to think what the ‘religious ritual of abortion’ they demand is all about,” states the statement, signed by Archbishop John Wester of Santa Fe, Bishop Peter Baldacchino of Las Cruces and Bishop James Wall of Gallup, among others. .
Speaking with The Independent on the morning of its launch, Chalice Blythe, Satan’s minister at the Temple, said the clinic is part of a long tradition of using existing statutes to ensure equal application of religious laws.
“It’s how we’ve done things historically, whether it’s bodily autonomy or access to abortion. We are simply utilizing religious protection so that we can freely exercise our religion,” she said. The Independent. “There are constantly passed laws and restrictions that deny us the ability to engage in free exercise,” he added. “Any legal action we take is to protect our ability to practice our faith.”
Erin Helian, director of religious reproductive rights for the Temple, said The Independent that the naming of Samuel Alito’s Mother’s Satanic Abortion Clinic was “quite deliberate”.
“It was something we had been considering for some time to highlight the injustices stemming from Minister Alito’s decisions and how it impacts our bodily autonomy,” she said.
Despite the humor of the name, she said the Temple’s work is deeply serious.
“There is always a concern that our humor is mistaken for a lack of seriousness. However, when it comes to things like the clinic, I know our work will speak for itself. I know how many people we can help with this, especially when we move to other states. Eventually, the work will speak for itself,” she said.
