Under the law, patients are required to wait 72 hours between an initial consultation with a doctor and the actual appointment to have an abortion. Other provisions call for patients to look at a booklet about abortion and be offered the opportunity to listen to the fetus’ heartbeat.

Doe argues that violates her religious belief. Her claim was rejected at the circuit court level, but the appeals court said it is an issue that needs to be examined.

“Neither the Missouri Supreme Court nor the U.S. Supreme Court has considered whether a booklet of this nature, an ultrasound, an audible heartbeat offer, and a seventy-two-hour waiting period violate the religion clause rights of pregnant women,” the ruling noted.

James MacNaughton, a New Jersey attorney who represented Doe, said his client disagrees with the central tenet of the Missouri law.

“The concept of saying that human life begins at conception is a religious belief,”MacNaughton told the Post-Dispatch Tuesday.

He said Doe is an adherent to the Satanic Temple, a political activist group that promotes science and social justice.

Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.

Jack Suntrup Jack Suntrup covers state government and politics for the Post-Dispatch. Follow Jack Suntrup Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today