What a judge just said about a Satanic Temple lawsuit over Idaho’s abortion ban
A religious organization that says it encourages benevolence and empathy challenged Idaho’s abortion ban after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. On Monday, the case came to a close.
The Satanic Temple, based in Salem, Massachusetts, sued Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador, Ada County Prosecutor Jan Bennetts and the state, arguing that Idaho’s abortion ban, which is among the most stringent in the nation, violates the Constitution.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court, was decided by Chief U.S. District Court Judge David Nye in Boise. He summarized The Satanic Temple’s arguments: The ban extracted economic value from pregnant women’s wombs, in violation of the Fifth Amendment; effectively made pregnant women slaves, in violation of the 13th Amendment; gave unconstitutional preferences to rape victims, in violation of the 14th Amendment; and violated Idaho’s religious freedom statutes.
The Satanic Temple sued after the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which gave states authority to ban or restrict abortion. Idaho’s ban outlaws nearly all abortions with narrow exceptions.
The organization uses the figure of Satan as a symbol of rebellion against authority and injustice, not as a deity to be worshipped, according to its website. It advocates for the separation of church and state and various civil rights, including bodily autonomy and reproductive rights.
“TST stands alone because we are the only entity that can assert a religious liberty claim that terminating a pregnancy is a central part of a religious ritual that encourages self-empowerment and affirms bodily autonomy,” The Satanic Temple says on its site. “This means that the imposition of waiting periods and mandatory counseling is akin to demanding a waiting period and counseling before one can be baptized or receive communion.”
Nye initially dismissed the case in 2022, ruling that the group lacked standing to challenge Idaho’s abortion laws mainly because it couldn’t identify any members harmed by the laws it challenged. Even if it had standing, its arguments were “absurd” and “outlandish,” the judge said.
The Satanic Temple appealed to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which largely upheld Nye’s ruling. However, the appellate court directed Nye to clarify whether the case should be dismissed permanently or if the group should be allowed another chance to rework its claims.
In Monday’s order, Nye said The Satanic Temple’s case “could not be saved by any amendment,” and he dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning he permanently closed it.
“(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.”
The Idaho Attorney General’s Office said the ruling marks a significant legal victory for the state.
“Idaho’s pro-life laws protect both mothers and unborn children, and this decision confirms those protections are constitutionally sound,” Labrador said in a news release. “The Satanic Temple’s attempt to manufacture constitutional violations out of disagreement with Idaho’s values has been rejected at every level.”
Lucien Greaves, cofounder and spokesperson for The Satanic Temple, said Thursday by email that the dismissal was a “cowardly punt” that did not address the legal merits of the claim.
“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,” Greaves said. “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.”
This story was originally published November 13, 2025 at 4:00 AM.
