The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings
It's hard to figuratively pick up the newspaper these without seeing something concerning the
persecution of Christians. It has always been hard for Christians in the Americas. It has gotten even
harder on Christians since many of these Christians don't want to share their country with people who aren't Christian. Sadly, for the evangelists of our nation, the Satanists continue to rear their ugly heads and point out the hypocritical nature of the
religious far right's persecution complex:
Satanists are rallying around “Mary,” who lives in rural Missouri and needs an abortion but is struggling to afford the extra expenses that the state's 72-hour waiting period will impose on her. Mary has the money for the abortion, but she doesn't have the estimated extra $800 that she needs to travel to the only abortion clinic in the state, in St. Louis, a trip that will require gas, hotel, and child care. “I personally would have liked to have the procedure done as soon as possible,” Mary told the Riverfront Times. “But with all the difficulties, how hard it is do this, it's been put off for several weeks.” She's now nearly 12 weeks pregnant.
The Satanic Temple has
a letter drafted for this very purpose. You can read it below the fold.
Slate.com points out that the focus on the clinic is a bit misdirected but unfortunately for Satanists, they do not have a Hobby Lobby type bank account to take on the state government.
The Satanic Temple raised the money for Mary in a day; its plan is to present a letter to the abortion provider asking for an exemption on the grounds that, as a Satanist, Mary believes her body is “inviolable” and the waiting period imposes a “substantial burden on my sincerely held religious beliefs.” As a legal maneuver, this leaves much to be desired: The clinic, too, is being victimized by the regulation, and they're not the authorities standing between Mary and her abortion. The legally sound way to demand “religious liberty” exemptions to waiting periods is sue the state government, but the Satanists don't have those sorts of resources—they're not Hobby Lobby.
Using logic is so insidious! You have to applaud Satanist moxy.
[Patient’s Name and Address]
[Date]
[Physician’s name and address]
Re: State mandated informed consent documents
Dear [Health Care Provider]:
As an adherent to the principles of the Satanic Temple, my sincerely held religious beliefs are:
- My body is inviolable and subject to my will alone.
- I make any decision regarding my health based on the best scientific understanding of the world, even if the science does not comport with the religious or political beliefs of others.
- My inviolable body includes any fetal or embryonic tissue I carry so long as that tissue is unable to survive outside my body as an independent human being.
- I, and I alone, decide whether my inviolable body remains pregnant and I may, in good conscience, disregard the current or future condition of any fetal or embryonic tissue I carry in making that decision.
- As you know, state law requires a waiting period after I first receive counseling before I can undergo an abortion. I regard a waiting period as a state sanctioned attempt to discourage abortion by instilling an unnecessary burden as part of the process to obtain this legal medical procedure. The waiting period interferes with the inviolability of my body and thereby imposes an unwanted and substantial burden on my sincerely held religious beliefs.
This letter constitutes my acknowledgment that you have notified me of the state mandated waiting period, but demands that you do not abide by this obligation because the waiting period offends my sincerely held religious beliefs, which take precedent. Please attach this letter to any forms you are required to keep.
I trust that you will honor my religious beliefs and will not deny me medical care – or delay requested care – because of any inconvenience my religious beliefs may cause.
Sincerely,