Satanic Temple opens abortion clinic in Virginia, claims pregnancy termination is religious ritual

The clinic is called the "Right to Your Life Satanic Abortion Clinic" and will offer chemical abortions as part of the "destruction ritual." The first ritual abortion clinic from the Satanic Temple was the Samuel Alito's Mom's clinic in New Mexico where, along with medical counsel, "free ceremonial support" is offered to everyone. Women who undergo abortion and participate in the "ritual" are intended to "assert their right to bodily autonomy as a religious practice." The abortions are done via telehealth, meaning that providers never come into contact with the women who seek pregnancy termination.

"The Satanic Abortion Ritual is a destruction ritual that serves as a protective rite. Its purpose is

to cast off notions of guilt, shame, and mental discomfort that a patient may be experiencing due to choosing to have a legal and medically safe abortion," the Satanic Temple claims.

Services offered by the Satanic Temple are free, exclusive of the abortion pills, which need to be obtained separately. "While many clinics have been forced to shut down, we took a bold step forward by opening the world’s first religious abortion clinic on February 14th, 2023. Since then, we have proudly offered over 100 abortions in New Mexico at no cost to patients aside from the medication," the Temple attests.

Abortion pills are legal throughout all fifty states per a Supreme Court ruling that said that access to those pills would be preserved nationwide. Pills to induce abortion were approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2000, the first of which was approved to induce abortion up to seven weeks gestation and required three doctor visits to receive the drug. The rules were "relaxed" by the FDA in 2016 and the agency allowed the drug to be used up to 10 weeks gestation and lowered the threshold to one in-person doctor visit. A generic version was approved in 2019 and by 2021 no in-person visit was required at all, making it possible for the drug to be prescribed via telehealth and shipped anywhere in the country for women to administer to themselves. This was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2023, which determined that pro-life groups did not have standing to sue to prevent it.

Chemical abortions are not without risk. If the fetus is not fully expelled, a woman can develop severe complications including sepsis, leading to death. This happened in two high-profile cases used by the Kamala Harris campaign to advocate for broader abortion access and for a federal legalization of abortion.

The Satanic Temple, founded under the George W. Bush administration as a means of accessing funding that was intended for religious-based community groups, has offered a handbook on how to undertake a ritual abortion. It does not mention potential risks or medical complications that could lead to death of the mother seeking pregnancy termination and refers to the abortion process as a "destruction ritual." The Satanic Temple recommends that women secure "A quiet space where you feel comfortable; Something that allows you to see your reflection or imagine yourself; copy of The Satanic Temple’s Third and Fifth Tenets and the personal affirmation."

Those tenets are: "One's body is inviolable, subject to one's own will alone," "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." The "personal affirmation" reads "By my body, my blood, By my will, it is done."

In addition to ritual abortion, the Satanic Temple puts of Christmas displays featuring statues of Satan and offers after school clubs for children. The Satanic Temple often sues school districts to force those schools to offer space for their Satanic children's clubs.