IDAHO, USA — Chief U.S. District Court Judge David C. Nye has dismissed a lawsuit brought by The Satanic Temple (TST) to Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador, Ada County Prosecutor Jan Bennetts and the State of Idaho over Idaho's abortion laws.
The suit claimed the state infringed on temple members rights by denying them to a right to an abortion as the group believes in bodily autonomy and has "abortion rituals" sanctioned by the temple.
Judge Nye dismissed the case on Wednesday, Jan. 31, with prejudice and without leave to amend. He stated in his decision that TST's arguments claimed to be straightforward but "while interesting, are convoluted and do not lead to the desired result."
Labradors office issued a statement from a news release on Friday, Feb. 2, stating the dismissal was a defeat to Satanists.
"The district court rejected every claim The Satanic Temple asserted and dismissed the case with prejudice. The court held that each claim lacked merit, even describing one of The Satanic Temple's positions as producing a 'blatantly absurd' result," Labrador said. "My office will continue to defend the lives of the unborn at every turn."
The AG's office added the State of Idaho "enacted the Defense of Life Act to protect the unborn" and the lawsuit was filed after the law went into effect. The news release furthered the office has successfully defeated TST's lawsuit.
"The Satanic Temple claimed a constitutionally protected right for its female members to ceremonially abort their babies as part of a Satanic ritual that involves the eerie invocation: 'By my body, my blood, by my will, it is done,'" the news release said.
The lawsuit from TST claimed the temple "venerates, but does not worship the the allegorical Satan described in the epic poem Paradise Lost - the defender of personal sovereignty against the dictates of religious authority." The suit was based on religious tenets of TST that state people have autonomy over their own body.
The temple has a Satanic Abortion Ritual where people meditate and recite tenets three and five as used in their religion. The suit claimed members in Idaho were unable to perform their religious rights to an abortion.
"Tenet III - One’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone. Tenet V - Beliefs should conform to one’s best scientific understanding of the world. One should take care never to distort scientific facts to fit one’s beliefs," TST website states.
One of The Satanic Temple's lawyers, W. James Mac Naughton, said they will appeal the decision to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the temple "knew these profound Constitutional and social issues would have to be resolved by the higher courts."
Mac Naughton furthered the temple is challenging the state to "put your money where your mouth is" and people who do not want to carry a child are forced into it. He added that although people can lawfully abandon a baby at birth, the state then has to foot the bill.
"The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled numerous times women have a fundamental Constitutional right to decide if and when they get pregnant. The Dobb's decision explicitly said that right was not being revoked. The TST lawsuit argues women cannot surrender that right by accident. Therefore, a woman who gets pregnant by accident, i.e., a failure of her birth control, has a constitutional right to compensation when her body is conscripted by the State of Idaho to produce an unwanted child," Mac Naughton said. "The Idaho Attorney General argued women forfeit their Constitutional right to decide if and when they get pregnant simply be having sex. The Idaho Attorney General says the only way to avoid the cost of an unwanted pregnancy is abstinence. The District Court agreed. TST does not. TST believes women have a Constitutional right to have sex without fear or any intention to get pregnant."
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