Satanic abortion appeal

The Satanic Temple (ST) is suing a bill-board company for not displaying its advert on abortion, in the same week that a lawyer described how she was joining the organisation as it ‘closely aligned’ with her code for living.

The temple accused Lamar Advertising of religious discrimination for not putting up eight billboards that say abortion is a ritual. If an abortion is classified as a religious ritual it means a woman can claim religious exemptions from the mandatory waiting periods, checkups and counselling that is required by some states before obtaining an abortion.

One billboard includes a woman holding a small Adolf Hitler with the text: ‘What if abortion had been an option?’

Lamar said the designs are ‘misleading and offensive’. ST co-founder Lucien Greaves said in a news release: ‘Lamar initially agreed to work with us and their rejection appears to be religiously based.’

The ST distances itself from the Church of Satan. The latter believe in magic, whereas the ST is more akin to the humanists in the UK. It operates according to Seven Tenets which include the right to abortion. The first tenet is: ‘One should strive to act with compassion and empathy toward all creatures in accordance with reason.’

In an article, a lawyer who signed up to the ST said her motivation to join was driven by her belief in abortion.

Satanist without knowing it

‘Reading through the Seven Tenets, I was struck by how closely they aligned with the unwritten code I had used to try to guide my own life for several years. I realised, happily, that these were my people and that I had been a Satanist for several years without even knowing it. When Justice Ginsburg’s death suddenly made combatting the threats to reproductive rights and a government free from religious interference more urgent, I knew it was time to join them and support their conceptual and legal battles.’