The young girl’s story had been taken up by some news outlets and pro-abortion activists as proof of the necessity of abortion access—and of the heartless nature of pro-life advocates who dared to claim that, even in such heartbreaking circumstances, the life of the unborn child should not be forfeited for the father’s crimes. But, is it really “heartless” to grieve for the 10-year-old victim while urging her to be brave and not kill the innocent child conceived through the vicious act of rape? It is understandable, in this hardest of hard cases, to reach for any way to demonstrate compassion and mercy. But that does not absolve us of facing the moral question about whether or not abortion, even in the case of rape, can be compassionate or merciful. …

The absolute number of pregnancies resulting from rape is fairly small. Yet in those rare cases, too often those closest to the victim respond to the pregnancy itself as if it were solely a continuation of that evil act. This is both unjust and unhelpful. It is unjust because a child conceived through rape remains a unique human being whose life has value and meaning. She is a child of the mother as well as the father. Neither the rape victim nor the innocent child conceived through the vicious act bear blame or moral responsibility for the actions of the rapist. But in condoning the killing of the unborn child, the victim is urged to embrace the long-rejected idea that children should be punished for the sins of their fathers.