Federal judge dismisses 'flawed' Satanic Temple lawsuit against Idaho pro-life laws

A federal judge has definitively dismissed a lawsuit from the Satanic Temple challenging laws protecting preborn children in Idaho, bringing a permanent end to their years-long crusade.

Key Takeaways:

• The Satanic Temple sued to overturn Idaho's pro-life laws in 2022, claiming they violated its members' 'religious freedom.' The Satanic Temple claims abortion is, for its members, a religious ritual.

• A judge dismissed the lawsuit in 2024, but the Satanic Temple appealed.

• An appeals court again ruled against the Satanic Temple in August.

• Now, a federal judge has dismissed the lawsuit "with prejudice," meaning the lawsuit cannot be refiled.

The Backstory:

The Satanic Temple (TST) originally sued both Indiana and Idaho in 2022, claiming to have 11,300 members in Indiana and 3,500 in Idaho. The group claimed each states’ pro-life laws were violations of religious freedom, as the Satanic Temple believes abortion itself is a “ritual” and a "religious" rite. The Satanic Temple also claimed that because satanists worship the notion of bodily autonomy, abortion is a "religious" issue, not a political one.

The Satanic Temple's Third Tenet states that “[o]ne’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone,” which is what they use as their religious justification for abortion.

“All of the Involuntarily Pregnant Women who are TST members believe the fetal tissue they carry in their uterus – from conception until viability — is part of their body and not imbued with any humanity or existence separate and apart from that of the Involuntarily Pregnant Woman herself," the lawsuit claimed.

To perform the “religious rite” of abortion, a member must recite a series of affirmations in front of a mirror, both before and after undergoing a chemical abortion.

The lawsuit was originally dismissed in 2024 by Chief U.S. District Court Judge David C. Nye, who wrote that the Temple's claims, “while interesting, are convoluted and do not lead to the desired result.” That decision was upheld by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, with U.S. Circuit Judge Margaret McKeown writing that the Satanic Temple never had standing to sue.

“TST, whose sole telehealth abortion clinic is in New Mexico, had not shown that one of its members has suffered or will imminently suffer an injury given that TST has no patients in Idaho, no doctors who are licensed to treat Idaho patients, and identified no Idaho citizen who sought an abortion from the organization,” she wrote. “The panel held that TST had not met its burden to show organizational standing. TST’s argument that it diverted resources to open its New Mexico clinic to provide abortions in response to Idaho’s and other states’ abortion bans was insufficient to establish standing. The panel rejected TST’s argument that its mission to promote abortions was frustrated by Idaho’s law.”

However, the appeals court also remanded the case back to Judge Nye.

The Details:

Nye has upheld his original decision, and also dismissed the suit with prejudice, meaning the Satanic Temple cannot refile again in Idaho. “(The Satanic Temple’s) efforts to shoehorn its disagreements with Idaho’s abortion statutes into constitutional claims rang of the classic phrase 'trying to fit a square peg in a round hole,’” Nye wrote. “It simply does not work.”

Additionally, Nye took a shot at the appeals court for remanding the case to him a second time.

"The Court finds itself in a somewhat procedurally awkward position. Having already found TST’s claims could not be saved, the Ninth Circuit’s request seems to be an unnecessary step. To be sure, the Court did not use the word 'clear' in its declaration that 'no amendment appear[ed] likely to save' TST’s claims. But that was all but implied," he continued. "To begin, TST had already amended its compliant once as a matter of course. Second, the Court held TST did not have standing. But then third, even if someone did have standing, the Court held the claims themselves were so flawed that each deserved dismissal. And the Court held no amendment could change that fact. However, to the extent such is necessary, the Court now makes the explicit finding that it is 'clear [TST’s complaint] could not be saved by any amendment.'"

Attorney General Raul Labrador applauded the ruling in a statement, while Lucien Greaves, cofounder and spokesperson for The Satanic Temple, condemned it.

“The judge is overselling the dismissal in an attempt to sound as if the court taking a bold position, perhaps in an attempt to cover for the fact that their dismissal was a cowardly punt that refused to examine the legal merits of our claim, in favor of denying us standing," Greaves said. “Or perhaps they are trying to convince us that we truly can not contest their abortion restrictions again for fear that the law is on our side. The fact is, when we have a pregnant plaintiff, we will refile a claim, and this time the courts should have no excuse but to do their job, which they so desperately avoid.” 

The Satanic Temple also unsuccessfully sued Texas and Missouri over their pro-life laws.

The Bottom Line:

Labrador said the ruling confirms Idaho's laws protecting preborn children from abortion are constitutionally sound. “The Satanic Temple’s attempt to manufacture constitutional violations out of disagreement with Idaho’s values has been rejected at every level," he said. "We’ve defended Idaho’s laws through every stage of this litigation, and we will continue protecting the right of Idaho’s elected representatives to defend life.”