The Satanic Temple (TST), which considers abortion a “religious reproductive right,” has launched a second facility offering telehealth abortion services. The Virginia clinic, named the Right To Your Life Satanic Abortion Clinic, is similar to the virtual clinic in New Mexico, named Samuel Alito’s Mom’s Satanic Abortion Clinic.
TST opened its New Mexico clinic in February 2023, in response to the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade the previous summer. After a draft of Justice Samuel Alito’s Dobbs ruling leaked in 2022, TST pledged to “protect religious abortion access for our members.” Since then, the organization has taken aim at strict abortion laws in Indiana and Idaho.
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As ChurchLeaders has reported, The Satanic Temple differs from the Church of Satan. Members don’t worship or believe in the biblical devil. The organization’s mission includes “rejecting tyrannical authority,” “opposing injustice,” and fighting for “bodily autonomy.” In 2019, the IRS recognized The Satanic Temple as a tax-exempt church.
Satanic Abortion Clinic Relies on Abortion Pill
TST Health, the group’s “religious reproductive health arm,” described its new clinic as an expansion of “low-cost, safe, and reliable abortion care” in America. The Virginia clinic, which opened with the help of donor funding, works with a third-party online pharmacy to supply abortion medication.
TST has helped cover medication and travel costs for people experiencing financial hardships. “We’re honored to have made a positive impact on so many lives during what can be a difficult time,” the group said.
During virtual consultations with TST Health, patients learn about potential risks of the abortion pill and what to do if complications arise. “We do not agree with the notion that telehealth care puts patients at risk,” said Erin Helian, TST’s executive director. “Instead, we argue that by expanding care and access, telehealth clinics, like ours, can save lives.”
TST Health staff, who are available online 24/7, schedule a series of virtual appointments with each patient and follow up afterward.
“Our new clinic presents a rare opportunity to provide vital medical care in an area that, thanks to lawmakers, is a virtual reproductive care desert,” Helian said. “Our second clinic is just the beginning of our expansion of easy [abortion] access.”
The Satanic Temple Calls Abortion a Religious Ritual
On its website, TST describes its “religious abortion ritual,” which protects members from “medically unnecessary and unscientific regulations.” During the so-called “destruction ritual,” people recite two TST tenets, including one that states, “One’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone.” Next, they state this personal affirmation: “By my body, my blood. By my will, it is done.”
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To prepare for the ritual, patients are instructed to ponder “the scientific reality regarding abortion” and recall “the struggle to establish the reproductive rights we have today.” Other people’s stories “may subdue stigmas you might feel from those who oppose abortion,” TST states. “Be proud of pursuing what you want for your life despite opposition.”
