• Some religious groups have taken up the claim that their beliefs give them a protected right to have an abortion.
• Religious groups have filed lawsuits in Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Texas and Idaho, alleging religious rights to abortion have been threatened since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, according to Politico. .
• “People are neither educated nor aware of the traditional religions that are in place to give society the ability to function…so people are now more vulnerable to this message. and I think the left knows that,” said Cecily Lutman, president of the Jewish Advocacy Group. The Life Foundation told DCNF.

America’s pro-life movement is famously led by religious groups like Catholics and Evangelicals who believe that life is sacred and begins with conception. However, since Dobbs’ decision led to strict restrictions on abortion in many states in the United States, several religious groups have filed legal challenges against them, largely because of their faith. I am listing.

Some Jews, Episcopalians, Unitarians, and even Satanist activists launched a campaign to spread the idea that states banning abortion violated their religious rights, and repealed the law. He even went so far as to file multiple lawsuits to force him to do so. according to to Politico. Its arguments range from Christian clergy who claim that women contemplating abortion cannot be consulted, to Judaism’s claim that the procedure is not morally condemned until the child takes its first breath, and to the Satanic Temple. claims for rights to “abortion ceremonies”. (Related: Blue states find abortions up 54% in the year since Dobbs ruling)

Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Texas and Idaho have all filed lawsuits against their respective abortion bans since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, according to Politico. It says. In Indiana, 1 lawsuit national claim Religious Freedom Restoration Act To provide additional protections for devout Americans, a law (RFRA) signed into law by former Gov. Mike Pence in 2015 gives religions such as Reform Judaism the right to claim abortion as their right. was given.

In their complaint, plaintiffs argue that in Reform Judaism, “Before the 40th day of pregnancy, the fetus is regarded as ‘mere water’… The fetus or fetus is regarded as a physical part of the woman’s body and is considered to be a part of the life of the woman.” It is believed that they will not have it,” he said. SPECIAL OR INDEPENDENT RIGHTS. As a result, it argues that Indiana’s law, which prohibits nearly all abortions with limited exceptions, violates First Amendment rights to free exercise and expression.

Cecily Lutman, president of the Jewish Pro-Life Foundation, told the DCNF that Reform Judaism denies many of the traditional and orthodox beliefs that are central to Judaism, adding that the debate makes little sense. said there was no

“The only thing I can say I agree with the people I’m talking to is that [believe] They know very little about religion in general and even less about Judaism,” Lautmann said. “Many of those who claim that abortion is a religious right either ignore the religious underpinnings of the Bible or distort the verses and opinions of verses to justify their position. and none of them reflect religious rights: genuine religion.”

Rutman also told the DCNF after the Supreme Court’s ruling: Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health CenterWith a policy that dispelled the idea of ​​a constitutional right to abortion in June 2022, the pro-choice lobby has exhausted many of its arguments and is now seeking to “weaponize” religion to advance abortion policy.

“They can get along better now because most of the culture has moved away from religion,” Rautmann said. “So people are not educated or aware of the traditional religions that were put in place to function in society. [W]Without these guidelines, we would just be in chaos…so people are more vulnerable to this message now, and I think the left knows it. ”

Indiana Attorney General Todd Lokita filed an appeal on Wednesday challenging the judge’s ruling that placed the case in class-action status. according to to the Indiana Capital Chronicle.

The Satanic Temple (TST) also considers abortion a protected procedure and offers “religious abortion rituals.”[s]The website says it’s for people who want to eliminate “medically unnecessary and unscientific restrictions” when seeking an abortion. TST has also filed lawsuits in Texas, Idaho, and Indiana, alleging that state laws prohibit the practice of rituals and violate faith.

“The abortion ritual (1) requires an abortion. (2) confirms her religious affiliation with TST’s 3rd and 5th tenets,” TST’s attorneys explained in a statement on the Texas lawsuit. . “However, before Ms. Dou had an abortion, before attending her abortion ritual, the government required her to undergo an ultrasound… [ These ] This requirement effectively interferes with Ms. Doe’s religious beliefs and practices for two reasons. First, this requirement is a prerequisite for Ms. Doe to be able to participate in religious ceremonies. For the state to impose costly regulatory hurdles before religious observances is itself a grave interference. ”

A similar lawsuit Filed in Florida on behalf of Jewish, Buddhist, Unitarian, Unification Church and Episcopal congregational religious leaders in hopes of overturning Florida’s 15-week abortion ban rice field. Mercy Hamilton, a professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania, who represented the plaintiffs, told Politico that religious Florida residents “have suffered a great deal from the restrictive ban on abortion.”

“For decades, Catholic bishops and the evangelical right have claimed singular religious heights on the issue of abortion rights and sought to label those who disagree with their views ‘secularists’. ‘ said Hamilton. “Yet there are millions of Americans whose deeply held religious beliefs, speech and actions are being burdened by a restrictive ban on abortion.”

Legal analysts also said the group’s claims were likely to win in court, pointing to a spate of similar lawsuits over the right to religiously object to the coronavirus vaccine. Paving the way for stronger protection According to Politico, it’s aimed at religious Americans. Other clerics say the law would prevent them from advising women on the issue and let them know that abortion is not considered morally wrong in their beliefs. bottom.

But some legal experts told the DCNF that these arguments are actually trying to glorify abortion at the expense of religion.

“With the exception of Satanists, this is really about a minority of people in legitimate religious traditions who have dishonestly incorporated their love of abortion into their religious doctrines,” the legal defense said. Andrea Picciotti Bayer, director of the Conscience Project, a center. Religious rights, he told the DCNF. “Doing so has nothing to do with the essential tenets and practices of genuine religious beliefs, except again Satanism. Both approaches grossly misunderstand the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom, not to mention logical reasoning.”

Lori Windham, vice president and senior counsel at the Beckett Religious Freedom Foundation, echoed Picciotti Bayer’s opinion, saying the lawsuit’s allegations were “weak.” ”

“What I think is getting a lot of attention is people saying, ‘I have the right to have an abortion because of my religion,'” Windham told DCNF. “The first step is to have a sincere religious belief. This is not something we made yesterday to evade the law. They will have a very hard time showing that their religion is actually a religious practice and not something they say is OK.”

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