Rape victims who have been attacked by a person with AIDS can avoid becoming infected themselves by beginning a drug treatment within 72 hours of the assault. Many victims start the treatment even without knowing whether their attacker was HIV-positive. More would do so if they knew for sure their attacker carried the disease.

The state could help these victims by forcing rape suspects to submit to HIV testing. Last week, Governor Romney proposed legislation requiring that suspects in rape and sexual assault cases undergo such testing if the victims request it. The testing would include other sexually transmitted diseases, as well. The bill faces opposition from AIDS activists and defenders of civil liberties. They say that the proposal violates the constitutional rights of suspects by forcing them to submit to intrusive tests before they have been convicted of a crime. But delaying the testing until after a conviction would miss the 72-hour period in which the drugs must begin to be administered and probably the month-long duration of the treatment itself.

A sexual assault throws a victim into pain, humiliation, feelings of powerlessness, and concerns about health effects. The price of forcing a test on a suspect who is still presumed innocent is high, but the well-being of the victim takes precedence.