Saturday, December 03, 2016

Satanic Temple Will Challenge Texas' New Fetal Remains Rules

As reported yesterday by Jezebel, the Satanic Temple says that it plans to challenge Texas' new rules requiring burial or cremation of fetal remains as a violation of its members' rights under the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act.  A spokesman for Satanic Temple said:
Texas health officials are baldly imposing the view that the fetal tissue is elevated to personhood—a religious opinion that conflicts with our own. If Texas is going to treat the disposal of fetal tissue differently from the disposal of any other biological material, in contradiction to our own religious beliefs, they need to present a compelling state interest for doing so. Of course, there is no such state interest, and it’s perfectly clear the demand for fetal tissue burial is a punitive measure imposed by sadistic theocrats. It’s clear these officials deem harassment an acceptable form of pushing their misguided religious agendas.
The organization plans to file for an injunction as soon as the state attempts to apply the new rules to one of its members. [Thanks to Scott Mange for the lead.]