Abstract
The author considers arguments in M. Cathleen Kaveny's book Law's Virtues: Fostering autonomy and solidarity in American society, concerning intrinsically evil acts and the commensuration (or ranking) of legal and political issues. He agrees with Kaveny that the fact that, for instance, abortion is an intrinsic evil does not on its own allow one to characterize the associated legal or political issue as more important in voting. But he argues also that Kaveny fails to take into account the fact that Thomas Aquinas's concept of being morally evil in species extends much wider than what she identifies as the intrinsically evil. He argues that Aquinas's understanding of how practical reason functions within the virtue of prudence allows him to order issues without falling into proportionalism or consequentialism.
