Does "commit <action>" always imply a negative moral judgement?

Solution 1:

The OED does apply an entire branch (II) of the word commit to "perpetrating" something negative.

To do something wrong; to perpetrate.

This branch seems to encapsulate most of the common examples cited here where the term carries a moral judgment, such as commit suicide or commit a felony.

In its etymology notes, the OED explains the development of this branch:

In classical Latin the expression committere legiones ‘to commit troops’ gave rise to committere pugnam ‘to join battle‘, and from this developed the sense ‘to begin, undertake’ which in turn acquired a pejorative sense ‘to perpetrate’ (compare Branch II.).

This pejorative sense dominates uses of the word in this structure to commit [action], even to the extent that it can sometimes distort other senses that are inherently non-pejorative. An example is the once common phrase commit matrimony, meaning to get married.

The OED provides a phrasal definition with numerous citations for "commit matrimony," though, amusingly, some of the citations acknowledge the latent pejorative sense:

‘You shouldn't say this young couple “committed” matrimony.’ ‘Why not?’ ‘It isn't good taste. You talk as if they had done something wrong.’ [emphasis added]

• 1903 Ohio Law Bulletin 25 May 216/2