Video: Satanic Temple Sues to Place Pro-Abortion Billboards in Arkansas, Indiana
The Satanic Temple has sued an advertising company that rejected pro-abortion billboards in Arkansas, Indiana.
Watch this video to learn more.
Satanic Temple Files Lawsuit to Place Pro-Abortion Billboards in Arkansas, Indiana
The Satanic Temple has filed a lawsuit against billboard company Lamar Advertising, according to a statement the organization released on Tuesday.
The Satanic Temple filed the lawsuit after Lamar rejected pro-abortion billboards the group wanted to place near pregnancy resource centers in Arkansas and Indiana
The Satanic Temple’s statement about the lawsuit includes copies of four different billboard designs the group says were rejected.
All four billboard designs claim that the Satanic Temple’s “religious abortion ritual averts many state restrictions” on abortion. One claims pregnancy complications are the sixth most common cause of death among women between the ages of 20 and 34, concluding that “abortions save lives.”
According to the statement, Lamar rejected the billboard designs for being “misleading and offensive.”
In August the Satanic Temple made a bizarre announcement declaring abortion a “religious ritual” in an apparent attempt to overturn state pro-life laws. The group filed a lawsuit in Missouri arguing that pro-life laws in that state violate Satanic Temple members’ religious liberties.
The Satanic Temple has used similar arguments about abortion and religious liberty unsuccessfully in past lawsuits.
In light of the fact that no court has ruled Satanic Temple members have any kind of religious right to an abortion, it’s more than fair for Lamar to reject the billboards for being misleading and offensive.
Unfortunately, the Satanic Temple has a history of stirring up controversy in Arkansas.
The group has opposed Arkansas’ privately funded monument honoring the Ten Commandments and is part of a lawsuit to have the monument removed from the capitol grounds.
In August of 2018 the group held a small protest in front of the state Capitol, and parked a flatbed trailer holding a 7½-foot statue of baphomet — a satanic figure — in front of the Capitol Building.
The Satanic Temple had previously threatened to put the baphomet monument on the capitol grounds itself. However, nothing ever came of the threat, because monuments require legislative approval.
It’s very telling that the Satanic Temple wants to put overtly pro-abortion billboards near pregnancy resource centers.
Pregnancy resource centers give women real options besides abortion.
Many of them provide everything from ultrasounds and pregnancy tests to maternity clothes and adoption referrals — typically free of charge. They often operate on very tight budgets, and they rely heavily on volunteers and donations.
Pregnancy resource centers play a vital role in the effort to end abortion in Arkansas.
Democrats in Congress Aim to Repeal Pro-Life Hyde Amendment
Last month the LA Times reported that Rep. Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats in Congress intend to repeal the Hyde Amendment next year.
The Hyde Amendment is a provision in the federal budget that prevents Americans from being forced to fund abortion procedures with their tax dollars. It contains exceptions for cases of rape or incest or when the mother’s life or physical health are in jeopardy.
Every year since 1976 Congress has attached some version of the Hyde Amendment to the federal budget to prevent taxpayer-funded abortion.
Public opinion polling has shown again and again that Americans don’t want to pay for abortions with their tax dollars. In spite of that, the Hyde Amendment has come under attack from pro-abortion groups and politicians in recent years.
For example:
- In 2016 the Democratic Party amended its platform, calling for the repeal of the Hyde Amendment.
- In 2019 presidential hopeful Joe Biden came out against the Hyde Amendment following pressure from pro-abortion groups.
- A few weeks later, then-presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg stated his opposition to the Hyde Amendment as well.
- Last July U.S. Representatives Barbara Lee (California), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (New York), Ayanna Pressley (Massachusetts), and Jan Schakowsky (Illinois) authored an op-ed in which they said “the Hyde Amendment’s days are numbered.”
For years the Hyde Amendment was viewed as a reasonable compromise between pro-life and pro-abortion politicians, but it’s clear that pro-abortion groups no longer see it that way.
Abortion advocates often have said, “If you don’t like abortion, don’t have one.”
Without the Hyde Amendment, even if you don’t like abortion and don’t have an abortion, you could still be forced to pay for an abortion with your taxes.