A certain Catholic nun, whose name we need not divulge, has drawn upon theology to buttress her pro-choice philosophy. She argues that since God gave her the gift of choosing, she should use that gift. Therefore, in being pro-choice, she is cooperating with God.

God, however, is not stingy. He has not only given this nun the ability to choose, but also the gift of reason to ensure that she uses her power of choice properly. Sister has ignored God’s second gift, which complements the first. Why she has seen fit to ignore this second gift is a conundrum. No doubt, her daily life consists of innumerable acts of blending choice with reason. She does not suspend reason when she dresses, or when she dines. Why, then, does she ignore this universal human faculty when it comes to abortion? This is by no means easy to explain. Perhaps it has something to do with her desire to conform to the short-sightedness of the world. Yet, if she gratefully accepts the power of choosing, why does she not also accept the power of reasoning? She is selling God short.

Thomas Jefferson could not have afforded to make such an egregious mistake. The author of the Declaration of Independence, he was a statesman, a diplomat, and a lawyer. He was also America’s third president. But as he noted in his epitaph, he was most proud of being the Father of the University of Virginia. His philosophy of education is one that could serve us well in a time when coherent philosophies desert us: “This institution,” he stated, “will be based on the illimitable freedom of the human mind. For here we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate error so long as reason is left to combat it.”

The notion that the freedom of the human mind is illimitable would be happily endorsed in our pro-choice culture. But Jefferson does not stop there. He points out that education is the pursuit of truth wherever it leads. At this juncture the present culture would object. Who knows what constitutes truth? Such an assertion is arrogant! We know that truth leads to many unpleasant things. There are certain instances when stating the truth qualifies for “hate speech.” Therefore, let us replace the pursuit of truth with political correctness.

The essential meaning of education, nonetheless, is to seek, find, and implement the truth.  This is nothing more than being realistic. A university education benefits a student by helping him gain a better understanding of the truth of things. A systematic presentation of lies, deceits, and distortions would be of no use to him. In fact, it would be exceedingly harmful.  Consequently, Jefferson implements reason as a way of separating truth from error. His statement concerning the university he established is sound, sane, and sensible. Jefferson was not merely pro-choice, but pro-education. Would that we could follow in his footsteps.

“Pro-choice” is  a single, isolated idea that exemplifies what we might refer to as a “laziness of the mind,” a reluctance to continue one’s thought process until it has reached a sensible conclusion. The mind is not properly exercised when it jumps to conclusion or leaps to resolutions. The path to a proper conclusion is illuminated by reason. In the world of jurisprudence, a “rush to judgment” is considered a miscarriage of justice.

We need not fear errors, Jefferson wisely stated, as long as we have reason to combat them. In this regard, reason defeats errors before they have a chance to harm us. It is, we might say, an intellectual immune system that protects us from the confusion that errors can cause. “A sane mind in a strong body” (mens sana in corpore sano) is a timeless idea that highlights the interconnectedness of the mind and the body as well as the unity of the human person.

People can be enamored with choice. But they should be equally enamored with truth and reason. Thinking is not selecting your favorite stage and ignoring the rest. It is a careful integration of all the relevant parts. The basic problem with the pro-choice stance is that it is not so much wrong as incomplete. There is a critical element that is missing. Mahatma Ghandi applied the notion that some important element is missing to what he called the seven sins of the modern world: “Wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, commerce without morality, science without humanity, worship without sacrifice, and politics without principle.”

God has been generous to us. He has given us the ability to choose and the capacity to employ reason in determining what we should choose and what we should avoid. He has also given us the ability to correct ourselves when we have gone astray. He has offered us truth. In addition, He has given us the likes of Thomas Jefferson . . . and Lincoln and Abraham and Aristotle and Plato and St. Thomas Aquinas.  Let us drink deeply from His cup of treasures.