The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a motion from the Satanic Temple last week to recuse Justice Amy Coney Barrett from its pro-abortion legal challenge because of her pro-life Catholic beliefs.
The pro-abortion satanic group has been trying for years, without success, to overturn laws that protect mothers and unborn babies. Its newest challenge, Judy Doe v. Michael L. Parson, claims a Missouri informed consent law that ensures women receive information about their unborn baby’s development, abortion risks and alternatives is a violation of its members’ religious freedom.
While the high court has not decided yet whether to hear the case, it did reject the group’s motion to disqualify Barrett because she is pro-life and Catholic, according to a press release from the satanic group.
“We cited numerous examples in our motion that unequivocally display Justice Barrett’s hostility towards the act of terminating a pregnancy,” spokesperson Lucien Greaves said. “Yet, the Supreme Court refused to recognize that her dogmatic conclusions related to abortion, which she announced publicly, can reasonably affect her ability to impartially rule on our religious freedom claims.”
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Greaves claimed that, because the Supreme Court did not rule as his group wanted it to, Americans should question its legitimacy.
“Because the Supreme Court has essentially removed any basis for asserting bias, they invite questions about the legitimacy of the legal system as a whole,” Greaves said.
Last week, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt slammed the Satanic Temple’s argument as “meritless” in a motion to the high court, KTTN News reports.
Schmitt, a pro-life Republican who was re-elected earlier this month, said Barrett’s personal views about abortion “however strong or deeply felt—do not provide a basis for recusal of a Justice.”
“Religious freedom is a bedrock principle of our Nation. Justice Barrett’s life of faith and service will enrich her judicial service on this Court, not diminish it,” he wrote.
He accused the Satanic Temple being hostile toward Barrett because of her Catholic faith and pro-life beliefs.
“Petitioner accuses Justice Barrett of creating an appearance of impropriety by ‘openly and publicly embracing … Catholic dogma.’ Petitioner’s argument thus echoes the worst of the hostile public rhetoric and anti-religious animus opposing Justice Barrett’s faith and judicial service. This Court should reject it,” Schmitt wrote.
For years, the Satanic Temple has been suing to overturn pro-life state laws, but all of its efforts have failed thus far. In June, a federal appeals court rejected its latest attempt at challenging Missouri’s informed consent law. In 2019, the Missouri Supreme Court dismissed another one of the Satanic Temple’s lawsuits.
But every time it loses, it tries again with a new approach. Its new plan is to challenge pro-life laws based on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), which ensures the government does not unnecessarily interfere with people’s religious freedom.
In August, the Satanic Temple admitted proudly that, in its belief system, killing an unborn baby in an abortion is a religious ritual similar to communion or baptism for Christians.
“Many states have laws that interfere with our members’ ability to practice their religious beliefs,” said Satanic Temple spokesperson Jane Essex at the time. “No Christian would accept a mandatory waiting period before they can partake in communion. No Christian would tolerate a law that insists state counseling is necessary before someone can be baptized. Our members are justly entitled to religious liberty in order to practice our rituals as well.”
It claims its abortion ritual is a “spiritual experience designed to instill confidence and self-worth in accordance to TST’s religious beliefs.”
The pro-abortion group also raffled off a free abortion to raise money for its campaign in August.
The Satanic Temple is heavily involved in abortion activism in the U.S. Breitbart once described its work as a “pro-abortion crusade to come to the aid of America’s largest abortion provider,” Planned Parenthood.
Some of its members also attempt to intimidate peaceful pro-life sidewalk counselors through gruesome protests. In 2016, pro-life advocates outside of a Detroit, Michigan Planned Parenthood faced a disturbing scene when a group from the Satanic Temple arrived to counter-protest wearing baby masks and carrying whips. They held a similar protest on Good Friday in 2017.
