Today, Satanists will be arguing in front of the Missouri Supreme Court for their religious right to an abortion, in spite of the state’s medically unnecessary 72-hour waiting period.
The controversy began in 2015 when “Mary Doe” sued the state. She needed an abortion, but the nearest clinic was hundreds of miles away. On top of that, because she had to wait three days between the initial consultation and the procedure, she had to make multiple trips to the facility or pay for lodging. That cost money she didn’t have.
It got a lot more complicated when she filed the lawsuit. Because The Satanic Temple, to which Mary belonged, says that “one’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone,” she claimed that the law requiring a 72-hour waiting period violated her religious beliefs.
Jex Blackmore, a spokeswoman for the Satanic Temple, said the woman’s religious rights were ignored.
“The State has essentially established a religious indoctrination program intended to push a single ideological viewpoint,” Blackmore said in a statement. “The law is intended to punish women who disagree with this opinion.”
Read the full story at the Friendly Atheist Blog
