USA: Satan’s strongholds
In May, the Massachusetts-based Satanic
Temple filed a lawsuit against the state of
Missouri on religious grounds, arguing that
a statute for women seeking to terminate
their pregnancies promotes the Christian
viewpoint that life begins with conception.
Women seeking abortions in Missouri must
be offered an ultrasound to hear the foetal
heartbeat, receive informed-consent booklets
that claim human life begins at conception,
and wait 72 hours in order to receive an abortion, according to the statute. However, the
Satanic Temple argues that these rules infringe
the religious freedom of people who do not
hold this Christian view of conception.