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August 12, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — For some time now, the Satanic Temple — headquartered in Salem, Massachusetts due to the witch trial connection — has been campaigning for abortion. Back in June, I wrote in this space that “Lucien Greaves, their creepy-looking leader, has turned his organization into a military vehicle of the culture war,” and he responded on Twitter to the effect that he was pleased with this characterization. The Satanic Temple has been attempting to utilize religious liberty laws in its favor, demanding equal access to schools for Satanism and claiming that restricting abortion violates its members’ religious freedom.

The Satanic Temple is now upping its game, launching a campaign titled “Satanic Abortions Are Protected by Religious Liberty Laws.” Abortion, their website states, is a Satanic religious practice:

“In accordance with the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), first trimester abortions are now exempt from unnecessary regulations for all individuals practicing The Satanic Temple’s religious bortion ritual.”

To promote the campaign, the Temple has launched a raffle to raise $100,000 for abortion “rights,” with first prize being a free abortion. (Second place is a Zoom meet-and-greet with Satanic Temple co-founder Lucien Greaves; last-place prizes consist of various swag with the slogan “Thyself Is Thy Master.”)

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The Satanic Temple is going even farther in its campaign for unrestricted abortion by officially declaring abortion a formal “Satanic Abortion Ritual”:

The Satanic abortion ritual provides spiritual comfort and affirms bodily autonomy, self-worth, and freedom from coercive forces with the affirmation of TST’s Seven Tenets. The ritual is not intended to convince a person to have an abortion. Instead, it sanctifies the abortion process by instilling confidence and protecting bodily rights when undergoing the safe and scientific procedure.

Laws that violate the Satanic right to kill one’s offspring in the womb include mandatory waiting periods, counseling prior to abortion, compulsory burial of fetal remains, required reading materials, listening to the baby’s heartbeat, and any other practice designed to dissuade a woman or otherwise remind her of her baby’s life and humanity. All of this is to conform to what they refer to as their “Personal Affirmation” mantra: “By my body, my blood, By my will it is done.” No mention is made of the blood of the child, which is what is being shed during an abortion.

URGENT PETITION: Tell the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade! Sign the petition here.

The Satanic Temple even provides specific mantras to chant or repeat during each type of abortion. Here, for example, is the suggestion for medical abortions:

Immediately before taking the medication(s) to terminate your pregnancy, look at your reflection to be reminded of your personhood and responsibility to yourself. Focus on your intent, take deep breaths, and make yourself comfortable. When ready, read the Third Tenet aloud to begin the ritual. After swallowing the medication(s), take another deep breath and recite the Fifth Tenet. After you have passed the embryo, return to your reflection, and recite the personal affirmation. Feel doubts dissipating and your confidence growing as you have just undertaken a decision that affirms your autonomy and free will. The religious abortion ritual is now complete.

Satanists claim they do not literally believe in the existence of Satan, but rather admire him as “a symbol of the Eternal Rebel in opposition to arbitrary authority, forever defending personal sovereignty even in the face of insurmountable odds.” In short, if they thought he did exist, they’d be fans. In the meantime, they appear to have an uncanny sense of what practices he approves of and throw themselves into supporting those practices with everything at their disposal.

Their claims that they support “scientific evidence” is ridiculous. Presumably, Temple attendees have not as of yet had the privilege of viewing National Geographic’s In the Womb.

Jonathon’s new podcast, The Van Maren Show, is dedicated to telling the stories of the pro-life and pro-family movement. In this episode, Jonathon interviews  Eric Metaxas, a conservative author, speaker, and radio host, about rioters’ new habit of burning Bibles. The two go on to discuss the riots, cultural Marxism, and how America is “on the brink now of losing everything.” You can subscribe here and listen to the episode below:

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Jonathon Van Maren is a public speaker, writer, and pro-life activist. His commentary has been translated into more than eight languages and published widely online as well as print newspapers such as the Jewish Independent, the National Post, the Hamilton Spectator and others. He has received an award for combating anti-Semitism in print from the Jewish organization B’nai Brith. His commentary has been featured on CTV Primetime, Global News, EWTN, and the CBC as well as dozens of radio stations and news outlets in Canada and the United States.

He speaks on a wide variety of cultural topics across North America at universities, high schools, churches, and other functions. Some of these topics include abortion, pornography, the Sexual Revolution, and euthanasia. Jonathon holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in history from Simon Fraser University, and is the communications director for the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform.

Jonathon’s first book, The Culture War, was released in 2016.