November 8, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) — The intersection of pro-abortion zealotry and self-avowed Satanists is a natural result of both groups’ shared belief in “autonomy” at any cost, according to a harrowing new documentary by the pro-life group Created Equal.

On Thursday, Created Equal released Abortion: A Doctrine of Demons, a roughly 22-minute video that juxtaposes an up-close look at the abortion industry and abortion activists with the stated values of Satanic groups.

“Created Equal has been increasing harassed by abortion advocates who overtly identify as Satanists. And those who love death (abortion advocates) are often quick to embrace Satanism’s [tenets],” Created Equal founder and president Mark Harrington explains. “We hope to awaken a sleeping church to the spiritual battle we face.”

“Most often, the ultimate value [abortion advocates] fight for is autonomy, freedom to do whatever they want,” the narrator says. “The greatest representative of pursuing autonomy is Satan. Satanism is therefore the perfect placeholder for these twisted values. Created Equal and other pro-lifers often encounter those whose support for abortion turns to worship, most evident under the banner of Satanism.”

The audience is shown video clips of pro-abortion individuals saying “hail Satan” (possibly sarcastically), one woman earnestly arguing that members of the Church of Satan are preferable to Christians, women admitting that abortion kills a baby while claiming that doing so is fine, and people arguing that human life does not have significant intrinsic value.

“Lone-soldier Satanists or lovers of abortion mocking Christianity do not prove a doctrinal connection between killing preborn babies and Satanism,” the narrator clarifies. “But those who love death are often quick to embrace its tenets. This is not surprising when the Satanic Temple teaches that defending abortion access is a worthy form of worship.”

The documentary shows self-professed Satanists championing abortion, including Satanic Temple president Lucien Greaves explaining that “[o]ne’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone” — which, the documentary notes, echoes the pro-abortion mantra of “my body, my choice” — is one of the Temple’s “Seven Fundamental Tenets.” The Temple has a history of engaging in pro-abortion advocacy.

The Satanic Temple says it doesn’t believe that Satan or other supernatural concepts literally exist, but embraces Satan’s name as a “symbol of the Eternal Rebel in opposition to arbitrary authority.” The documentary highlights one case of an individual abortion-supporter claiming to have experienced a literal Satanic encounter but argues that “secular” Satanism is just as destructive.

“Christianity grounds morality and human rights in God’s perfect character,” it explains. “By contrast, abortion defenders seem to adhere to a paradoxical religious secularism. Fighting religion has become their religion. For this, there is no greater hero than Satan himself, whose rebellious nature culminated in opposition to the God who, in the words of abortion supporters, tyrannically oppresses them.”

The documentary also highlights the testimony of Zachary King, a former Satanic high wizard (now a Catholic) who says he participated in “ritual” abortions. “When you’re doing an abortion, blood is the binding agent in a Satanic anything. Ultimately you’re wanting the blood of the baby. Because that is a Satanic sacrifice,” King says.

Throughout the documentary, there are numerous examples of vulgarity, violence, and vandalism from irate pro-aborts who cross paths with pro-life protesters. It also highlights several especially grisly abortionists, from the infamous Kermit Gosnell and Ulrich Klopfer to the late Robert Santella, who was caught on tape hissing, “I love killing babies” to a pro-lifer who confronted him.

“At the heart of this grisly behavior is rebellion,” the narrator says — “rebellion against God exemplified by Satanism and threatening everyone who stands in the way of autonomy. The pursuit of absolute autonomy is trampling people in its path.”

The documentary casts modern pro-abortion zealotry as a spiritual successor to infanticide and human sacrifice throughout history, noting that while past cultures sacrificed to their gods in hopes of better weather, modern pro-aborts like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) frame abortion as part of the solution to climate change.

For all the relentless darkness on display, the documentary concludes on a note of hope, reminding the audience that Christianity has played a key role in abolishing barbaric practices throughout human history. “There was light which shone into the darkness to end that evil,” the narrator says. “This ended child sacrifice in the centuries following Christ’s resurrection. And that light will end it today.”

“That light is God Himself, revealed to man in the person of Jesus,” the video declares. “This is the God who commands us to love our children, be kind and merciful to our neighbor, and showed us the ultimate act of love in his sacrifice on the cross. This is the God so many abortionists hate[.] ... Those who believe in the name of Christ need not sacrifice their children. Christ offered himself as the ultimate sacrifice.”