One and one-half million abortions occur in the United States each year, with 16,000 due to pregnancies caused by rape or incest. While many pro-life activists argue that the fetus should never be aborted, no matter how it was conceived, others agree with supporters of abortion rights that rape and incest are two acceptable reasons for permitting an abortion.

Supporters of abortion rights argue that a woman who is not allowed to end an assault-induced pregnancy effectively endures a second attack, with society and the fetus now the assailants. Judith Jarvis Thomson encapsulated this view in her essay “A Defense of Abortion.” She uses the analogy of a person who is kidnapped and awakens in a hospital bed with a renowned violinist attached to his or her circulatory system. The violinist must remain attached for nine months in order to survive. Thomson likens...