Veritatis Splendor's Analysis

Within the Catholic Church, certain acts are considered intrinsically evil. These acts include any action that goes against the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments have been installed into the Church because they act as moral safeguards for people to abide by . These safeguards ensure that the individual is always striving towards the good. Acts, such as abortion, which society considers necessary for the betterment of a young woman, are in direct contention with the sixth commandment, “ thou shall not kill.” Through the deliberate disregard for this commandment, all of the parties involved in the process of abortion are performing an intrinsic evil. Additionally, intrinsic evils are those actions that are evil in and of itself. St. John Paul II, in his encyclical Veritatis Splendor explains that intrinsically evil acts are those that are “hostile to life itself: homicide, genocide, abortion, euthanasia and voluntary suicide.” Since the act of abortion includes the intention to kill a developing individual, it can be deduced that the act of abortion, which is a decision that results in the death of a human being is intrinsically evil.

John Paul II’s quote from Veritatis Splendor, which states that “whatever violates the integrity of the human person: mutilation, torture; whatever is offensive to human dignity: prostitution, slavery, trafficking in women and children,” The act of abortion includes mutilating the uterus in which the infant is