The Satanic Temple, a Massachusetts-based group known for its controversial stance on abortion, has reportedly expanded its operations into Virginia after facilitating over 100 abortions in New Mexico.
The group, which charges an average of $91 per abortion, announced its new telehealth abortion services and potential travel assistance for expectant mothers in Virginia. The cost of the abortifacient is covered by the patients and is sourced from the group's partner pharmacy in California.
According to The Blaze, the Satanic Temple, despite its name, does not actually worship demonic forces. Co-founder Lucien Greaves and other members of the group insist that it is essentially an atheistic leftist organization that uses the guise of a satanic cult. This is evident in their actions such as erecting statues of Baphomet during the Christmas season. The group's operations in Virginia, much like its "Samuel Alito's Mom's Satanic Abortion Clinic" in New Mexico, blur the lines between role-play and reality.
The Satanic Temple offers an "abortion ritual" for women seeking to terminate their pregnancies. This ritual is described as a "destructive ritual that serves as a protective rite." The group explains that the purpose of this ritual is to "cast off notions of guilt, shame and mental discomfort" associated with abortion and to affirm the choice. "TST's abortion ritual can be performed to address definable concerns or to overcome unproductive feelings," the ritual guideline states. "The ritual, which includes the abortion itself, spans the entirety of the pregnancy termination procedure. There are steps to be performed before, during, and after the medical or surgical abortion."
The group frequently references individual rights and "scientific reasoning" on its website. It suggests that in terms of individual rights, "one's body is inviolable, subject to one's own will alone," and in terms of scientific reasoning, "beliefs should conform to one's best scientific understanding of the world." However, these statements have been criticized as a rhetorical smokescreen, as the group appears to disregard the rights of the unborn and the scientific understanding of fetal pain, cognitive function, and the separate genetic identity of the unborn child.
Erin Helian, the executive director of the Satanic Temple, revealed to the Christian Post that the Virginia operation, which deals with chemical abortion pills that reportedly led to the death of Amber Thurman in 2022, was partly funded by donors. The group has been soliciting donations of $66.60 for its expanding abortion enterprise. "As abortion rights continue to be a central issue in the upcoming U.S. presidential election, we remain steadfast in our mission to expand access and protect bodily autonomy," the group stated in a release. "We will not stop until we have made a lasting difference."
The Satanic Temple's activities extend beyond facilitating abortions. The group has distributed satanic literature to children, performed public "unbaptisms," held a demonization ceremony in protest of the canonization of Catholic Spanish priest Junpero Serra, promoted euthanasia and pornography, and erected demon statues on government property.
Kevin Ryan of Blaze News pointed out that despite the group's denial, the Satanic Temple's "devotion to Satan a mythological character, they say is unmistakable." Ryan wrote, "If they were truly godless, they wouldn't fixate so obsessively on Christianity. The Satanic Temple's ultimate goal is to undermine Christ's kingdom."
He added, "The Satanic Temple and other movements that promote abortion rights in the name of autonomy are in fact beholden to an anti-freedom. Christians know that Satan cannot create life he only destroys. He may offer seductive ideas cloaked in equality or liberty, but his goal is always to eradicate the value of human life, which stands at the core of God's creation."
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