The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas has dismissed a lawsuit from the Satanic Temple, as per Bloomberg Law. The court deemed the lawsuit cryptic and lacking in basic information about the plaintiff’s standing to sue. The Satanic Temple’s complaint was targeting Texas Health and Human Services Executive Commissioner Cecile Young for alleged violations of the First Amendment’s free speech, free exercise, and establishment clauses. Initially, the lawsuit opposed state informed consent laws, including a waiting period for abortions and requirements for pregnant women to be offered the chance to hear the fetus’s heartbeat and see an ultrasound image.
After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and Texas started enforcing its abortion ban, the Satanic Temple revised its complaint, claiming that the laws interfered with its members’ religious abortion rituals. Erin Helian, Director of Campaign Operations for the Satanic Temple, insisted that the new law, SB 8, infringed upon their members’ religious and personal autonomy rights.
The Satanic Temple initially filed the lawsuit in 2021 against Texas Health and Human Services Executive Commissioner Cecile Young on religious freedom and free speech grounds. Despite numerous failed attempts to challenge pro-life laws across various states, the group continues to try new approaches. Their ongoing strategy is to contest pro-life laws using the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), which aims to prevent unnecessary governmental interference with religious freedom. The Satanic Temple, known for its abortion activism, has been characterized by Breitbart as a staunch supporter of Planned Parenthood and a major player in the pro-abortion movement.
