8th Circuit affirms dismissal of Satanic Temple’s abortion suit

The 8^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday affirmed the dismissal of one of The Satanic Temple’s three pending lawsuits challenging Missouri’s abortion restrictions, finding the plaintiff lacked standing to sue because she no longer was pregnant.

The Satanic Temple and Mary Doe brought the suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri against then-Gov. Jay Nixon and Attorney General Chris Koster in June 2015.

They alleged five abortion policies and procedures required by the state for abortion providers, sometimes referred to as the Missouri Tenets, violate their rights under the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment. Under state law, abortion providers must give literature that states life begins at conception to women seeking an abortion, and must provide them with the opportunity to have an ultrasound and to listen to the fetal heartbeat. Providers also are required to wait 72 hours after the ultrasound opportunity before performing an abortion.

The district court approved the state’s motion for dismissal for lack of jurisdiction, prompting The Satanic Temple and Doe to appeal.

The 8th Circuit panel included Judges Steven Colloton, Michael J. Melloy and Raymond W. Gruender.

The Satanic Temple, according to the unsigned, unpublished opinion, identifies itself as “an association of politically aware Satanists, secularists and advocates for individual liberty.” Doe is a member of The Satanic Temple and Missouri resident who sought an abortion in St. Louis.

Doe complied with the Missouri Tenets and received an abortion, the opinion said. She then filed suit, seeking a series of declarations about the state’s policies, an injunction and attorneys’ fees and costs.

The court noted that Doe sought only prospective relief.

To have standing, the court wrote, a plaintiff must have an injury in fact, a causal connection between the injury and the conduct which is the subject of a complaint and the likelihood the injury will be remedied.

“Mary Doe therefore lacks constitutional standing,” the court wrote.

James MacNaughton, a Newton, New Jersey attorney representing Doe and The Satanic Temple, said he was disappointed by the court’s refusal to address the underlying issue.

He said it was clear during oral arguments the judges were concerned about standing, but they also understood his clients’ case. He said he believes the court “just didn’t want to deal with the political firestorm that it might cause,” to side with The Satanic Temple.

Another of the group’s pending cases is being considered by the Missouri Supreme Court. It raises the same issues with the same plaintiff. The court heard the case in January but has not yet ruled on it.

MacNaughton said the Missouri Supreme Court was “even more hostile” than the 8th Circuit.

“It’s a tough lift for a court,” he said. “On the one hand, which is the lesser of two evils? Having the state of Missouri preach from the pulpits of waiting rooms of Planned Parenthood or giving Satanists abortions on demand?”

A spokesperson for the Missouri Attorney General’s Office, which represented the state, could not be reached for comment.

The case is The Satanic Temple et al. v. Mike Parson et al., 16-3387.