Satanic Temple opens abortion clinic in Virginia for its 'destruction ritual'



After helping kill over 100 unborn babies in New Mexico at an average cost of $91 per head, the Satanic Temple has expanded its abortion enterprise to Virginia.

The anti-Christian group, based in Massachusetts, announced on Saturday that it is now offering expectant mothers in the Old Dominion telehealth abortion services and possible travel assistance, noting that patients need only cover the cost of the abortifacient from its California-based partner pharmacy.

While co-founder Lucien Greaves and other proponents of the radical group deny actually worshipping demonic forces — indicating that theirs is effectively an atheistic leftist organization wearing the skin of a satanic cult that just happens to erect statues of Baphomet around Christmastime — the Virginia death dispensary, like the Temple's "Samuel Alito's Mom's Satanic Abortion Clinic" in New Mexico, blurs the lines between role-play and the real thing.

'The ritual, which includes the abortion itself, spans the entirety of the pregnancy termination procedure.'

For women seeking to snuff out the life growing inside them, the Satanic Temple offers an "abortion ritual," which it describes as a "destructive ritual that serves as a protective rite."

The stated purpose of this death ritual is to "cast off notions of guilt, shame and mental discomfort" associated with the extermination of innocent life and to altogether affirm the choice.

"TST's abortion ritual can be performed to address definable concerns or to overcome unproductive feelings," says the ritual guideline. "The ritual, which includes the abortion itself, spans the entirety of the pregnancy termination procedure. There are steps to be performed before, during, and after the medical or surgical abortion."

The radical group makes repeated mention of individual rights and "scientific reasoning" on its site, suggesting that in the case of individual rights, "one's body is inviolable, subject to one's own will alone," and in the case of scientific reasoning that "beliefs should conform to one's best scientific understanding of the world."

However, such statements amount to little more than a rhetorical smokescreen. After all, the Satanic Temple appears keen to overlook the rights of the unborn as well as the scientific reasoning concerning fetal pain, fetal cognitive function, and the separate genetic identity of the unborn child.

'The Satanic Temple's ultimate goal is to undermine Christ's kingdom.'

Erin Helian, the executive director of the Satanic Temple, told the Christian Post that the Virginia death dispensary — which deals in the kind of dangerous chemical abortion pills that effectively killed Amber Thurman in 2022 — was made possible in part by the funding of donors.

The Satanic Temple has been chasing after donations of $66.60 for its burgeoning abortion enterprise.

"As abortion rights continue to be a central issue in the upcoming U.S. presidential election, we remain steadfast in our mission to expand access and protect bodily autonomy," the radical group noted in a release. "We will not stop until we have made a lasting difference."

Helping American women abort their children is not the Satanic Temple's only preoccupation, although it has certainly made a habit of challenging pro-life legislation.

The radical group has also distributed satanic literature to children; publicly performed "unbaptisms"; held a demonization ceremony in protest of the canonization of the Catholic Spanish priest Junípero Serra; promoted euthanasia and pornography; and erected demon statues on government property.

Blaze News' Kevin Ryan recently noted that despite its members' denial, the Satanic Temple's "devotion to Satan — a mythological character, they say — is unmistakable."

"If they were truly godless, they wouldn't fixate so obsessively on Christianity. The Satanic Temple's ultimate goal is to undermine Christ's kingdom," wrote Ryan.

"The Satanic Temple and other movements that promote abortion rights in the name of autonomy are in fact beholden to an anti-freedom," added Ryan. "Christians know that Satan cannot create life — he only destroys. He may offer seductive ideas cloaked in equality or liberty, but his goal is always to eradicate the value of human life, which stands at the core of God's creation."

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Nicaraguan regime bans Christian activities during Holy Week, organizes fashion shows instead



Nicaragua's Marxist-Leninist regime has once again banned public Christian activities associated with Holy Week and Easter.

Instead of communal displays of Christian faith, Rosario Murillo, the power-mad wife of Nicaraguan dictator Daniel Ortega, has ensured that only festivities favorable to the regime will be permitted to take over the streets.

The regime's decision to continue its brutal repression of Christians, most notably Catholics, comes amid new U.S. sanctions targeting Nicaraguan Attorney General Wendy Carolina Morales Urbina for her role in executing the "regime's unjust persecution of political prisoners and civil society within the country."

The U.S. State Department also announced new arms restrictions against Nicaragua on March 14, citing concerns "about continuing brutal repression by Ortega-Murillo authorities against the people of Nicaragua."

Background

The Catholic Church in Nicaragua had a fleeting flirtation with the Sandinistas in the 20th century. However, in the 1980s, Pope John Paul II cleaned house, suspending clergymen who supported revolutionary Marxism. The former Roman pontiff also promoted a steadfast critic of the Sandinistas, then-Archbishop Miguel Obano y Bravo, to cardinal in 1985.

The church's revived defiance of leftism in Managua and frequent alliance with Nicaraguan conservatives made it an easy target for persecution. The church became an even bigger target when it supported critics of the regime during the 2018 protests, which Ortega turned bloody.

Blaze News previously reported that at the outset of his fourth term in office in 2018, Ortega's paramilitaries sent a clear message, shooting up a church. Ortega suggested that Catholics critical of the regime or sympathetic to critics of the regime were "terrorists."

Now in his fifth term, the leftist dictator's attacks on Catholics have worsened. The regime routinely targets Catholics with arbitrary raids, beatings, disappearances, deportations, church burnings, and asset seizures. Additionally, Ortega's regime has shuttered thousands of church-affiliated organizations and services in recent years.

The Associated Press indicated that despite support for the regime among several evangelical leaders, the regime has also begun extending its persecution to other Christian groups, closing or dissolving more than 256 associations linked to the Protestant or evangelical church since 2021.

This persecution has prompted an estimated 80% of the country's clergy and religious to flee.

Frederick Davie, the vice chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, said earlier this year, "USCIRF is outraged that the Nicaraguan government has chosen to continue its brutal crackdown on members of the Catholic Church for speaking out about the religious freedom and human rights violations occurring in the country."

"It has become increasingly clear that President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo are intent on silencing the voice of any individual peacefully following the dictates of their conscience," added Davie.

Holy week in the shadow of the regime

Last year, the regime banned public Holy Week events, processions, and outdoor masses. Murillo blasted those who dared complain, claiming they "do not know how to be respectful or show solidarity."

The Associated Press reported that extra to shutting down religious activities, authorities also picked up and deported clergymen.

The regime has doubled down this year.

Martha Patricia Molina, a Nicaraguan lawyer who authored the Spanish language report "Nicaragua: A Persecuted Church?" noted on Facebook that the regime had banned "4,800 processions for Lent/Holy Week 2024[.] This figure includes the processions that took place/will take place on the 4 Fridays of Lent, Palm Sunday and those that took place directly in the Major Week itself."

Molina indicated that parishes have or will hold religious activities indoors, but that state officials may interfere with those as well, reported the Catholic News Agency.

"Some processions have been allowed around the block where the church is, but at the last minute a National Police officer shows up and gives a counter-order so the people can’t come out (of the church for the procession), under threat of being imprisoned," wrote Molina.

Molina told a Spanish-language news outfit, "Nicaragua is a country very given, as a Catholic people, to popular piety."

As a result, various townships and municipalities will attempt to hold Holy Week activities even if the Catholic Church is officially barred from doing so.

The Christian Post reported that Murillo, the dictator's wife, has indicated that this year, officials will swap out religious processions with "popular processions." These processions, organized by the regime's Institute of Tourism, will emphasize the Sandinistas' radical ideology throughout Holy Week.

Rather than prayerful reflection, the Ortega-Murillo regime has reportedly opted for fashion shows, beauty contests, and other materialistic distractions. While the regime insists that its approved message floods the streets, it also promotes anti-Christian hatred on television and the radio.

A new human rights report from the United Nations indicated that "led by the President and the Vice-President, hate speech inciting to violence and discrimination against the Catholic Church has been disseminated through pro-government media."

Republican Sens. Rick Scott (Fla.), Ted Cruz (Texas), Tommy Tuberville (Ala.), and Katie Britt (Ala.) implored President Joe Biden last week to sanction Nicaragua for its "repeated violations of religious freedom in Nicaragua."

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Georgia's largest hospital system scraps Christmas Eve from paid holiday calendar, adds Juneteenth to ensure 'equitable outcomes for all'



The largest hospital system in Georgia has scrapped Christmas Eve from its paid holiday calendar, effective next year. Juneteenth has been added in its place. This will impact over 24,000 employees.

While the controversial zero-sum swap is purportedly an attempt to support "diverse communities" and ensure "equitable outcomes for all," the system comprising 11 hospitals and over 250 provider locations does not appear to have done anything substantive for workers by virtue of this change.

Atlanta News First reported that employees were let down by what some had anticipated to be an "exciting announcement."

"I think, in general, everyone at Emory is pretty frustrated right now," said one Emory health care provider. "You can’t replace one for the other. It's completely inappropriate. It's essentially pitting a Christian holiday against something that's to be celebratory for everyone – but specifically for our black colleagues."

"Something that should be an extremely joyful and collective celebration has become another reminder of how our black colleagues can’t have anything without sacrifice," an employee told Atlanta News First.

NAACP Dekalb County president Edwina Clanton puzzled over "why they can't do both," suggesting "it will put anger in some hearts."

"Why do we have to do this? Why can't we have our old holidays off?" said Clanton. "Some more consideration, even asking the employees which days you want to give up, that may have worked better."

In his memo to employees last month, Lee reportedly indicated leadership did not want to add another day to the nine paid holidays observed each year.

"For each observed holiday, our clinics and business offices close, which means our patients are unable to make clinic appointments for those days," wrote Lee. "To minimize the impact on patient care, we will not be adding another paid holiday to our calendar."

The Washington Free Beacon reported that Lee had further stressed in his email to employees, "Diversity, equity, and inclusion at Emory Healthcare (EHC) is about creating an environment of true belonging for our patients and team members, while ensuring equitable outcomes for all."

"In response to requests from our care team members over the past few years, we are pleased to add Juneteenth to the holidays we recognize," Janet Christenbury, a spokesman for the health system, told Becker's Hospital Review. "At Emory Healthcare, we strive to support our employees and our diverse communities in recognizing holidays that are meaningful and important to them."

Atlanta News First indicated the system said employees retain the option to use paid time off for Christmas Eve.

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Texas school district cancels prayer event, caving to pressure from out-of-state group



A Texas school board planned a prayer marathon in the lead-up to the new school year. The prospect that educators, parents, and students would voluntarily appeal to an unspecified higher power for safety and wisdom ahead of the fall semester proved too much to bear for one activist group from out of state.

The Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation appears to have successfully pressured the Burnet Consolidated Independent School District into canceling the event and agreeing to refrain from proposing something again online in the future.

In the revisionist history on the FFRF's website, the group alleges that "most social and moral progress has been brought about by persons free from religion," making no mention of the atrocities secular regimes have been wont to commit ever since the French Revolution.

The group further boasts that the irreligious have been, in modern times, "the first to speak out" in support of euthanasia, abortion, contraception, and sterilization.

Extra to promoting the separation of state and church, championing the legality of eugenicist practices, and advocating for LGBT dogma to be peddled in schools, the group has taken on an evangelical role: "to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism."

The group appears particularly hostile to public prayer, havingcharacterized it as "unnecessary, ineffective, embarrassing, exclusionary, divisive or just plain silly."

On July 25, the Burnet CISD shared a now-deleted post on Facebook that read, "Join us beginning tomorrow as we pray to the first day."

The post assigned different schools and groups within the district, from custodial staff to parents and guardians, a different day to voluntarily pray, starting July 26 and running until August 16.

Samantha Lawrence, a legal fellow at the FFRF, apparently caught wind of the marathon and penned a letter to Superintendent Keith McBurnett on July 27, claiming a "concerned complainant" had flagged the event.

Lawrence suggested that the optional prayer event — which did not appear to specify a style or method of prayer, a corresponding creed, or an object of the transcendent appeals — displayed "clear favoritism towards religion over nonreligion by promoting and encouraging prayer."

"The District serves a diverse community that consists of not only religious students, families, and employees, but also atheists, agnostics, and those who are simply religiously unaffiliated," wrote Lawrence. "By promoting prayer, the District sends an official message that excludes all nonreligious District students and community members."

The FFRF activist demanded that the Burnet CISD "cease promoting prayer and refrain from doing so in the future," as well as remove the post from its Facebook account.

Hemant Mehta of the Friendly Atheist newsletter highlighted how this was neither a lawsuit nor a threat.

Nevertheless, the school complied, reported the Washington Times.

In an Aug. 3 statement, the FFRF noted that McBurnett had written back, "The Facebook post has been removed, and the district will refrain from posting anything similar in the future."

Annie Gaylor, the co-president of the FFRF, celebrated the capitulation, writing, "We're glad that school officials are taking action to uphold constitutional neutrality."

"A school district does not need to pray for their students and staff. It needs to focus instead on providing a secular education free from religious indoctrination," added Gaylor.

Supreme Court Justice Neil M. Gorsuch appears to be of a different mind.

In a June 2022 decision, where the Supreme Court ruled a high school football coach had a constitutional right to pray at the 50-yard line after his team's games, Gorsuch wrote, "Respect for religious expressions is indispensable to life in a free and diverse republic — whether those expressions take place in a sanctuary or on a field, and whether they manifest through the spoken word or a bowed head."

TheBlaze reached out to McBurnett and Burnet CISD Board President Earl Foster for comment, but had not received a reply by the time of publication.

It remains unclear whether educators, students, and parents will continue their prayer marathon, albeit without the official sanction or direction of elements of the district.

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Top NFL Draft Prospect Trevor Lawrence Criticizes Lil Nas X Satan Shoes

NFL prospect Trevor Lawrence criticized rapper Lil Nas X's recently announced 666 Satan shoes on Twitter.