Restlessness seems ubiquitous today. People are uncomfortable with the stability of human nature and obsessed with the idea of personal autonomy. The abortion industry feeds on this discomfort because it offers us a way to pursue our bodily pleasures without being subject to their natural, biological consequences. Having children is an inherently selfless endeavor because it makes us give up our own freedom; but abortion provides us a way to avoid that.

Thus, for some, Church authorities seem to be trying to keep women from enjoying the kind of autonomy that is their “God-given right”: “A woman shouldn’t have to carry a baby to term if doing so would infringe upon her chosen lifestyle, should she?”

A few protesters on the steps of the Supreme Court sport signs like “Pro-faith. Pro-family. Pro-choice.” The newspapers show pictures of these “Pro-choicers” next to a few “Pro-lifers” but they often ignore the overwhelming presence of the March for Life. Why? The reality is that the activity of the pro-abortion lobby and their media allies protects our cultural selfishness: it strives to ensure an autonomy such that we need not even be subject to our own biological processes God’s remedy for our restlessness was to become human and show us the goodness of our own nature. He renews this great act of mercy daily by giving us His own flesh in the Eucharist as healing for our unhappiness. He is infinite, and only He can fill our infinite longing for happiness.

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