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.
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