A Norwich man allegedly confessed to the stabbing death of his pregnant wife on Thursday. He is being charged in her death — but, as reported by NBC Connecticut, absolutely nothing for the baby, because according to one judge’s Superior Court ruling, an unborn child is not a “person” or “human being” for statutory purposes. Only after passing the magic threshold does that child qualify.

The woman was 8 months pregnant. The baby was a girl.

I must have turned several shades of red when I saw this news. Though I have moved out of Connecticut, I called it home for 8 years, so words can hardly describe the depth of shame and outrage I feel on behalf of everyone there right now.

Please, do not just think “That’s terrible!” and go on about your day. Contact your legislators now, tell them this cries out for justice and ask them what their plan is for rectifying the law in the next session. If there is ever a place to find common ground, this is it: while there is no doubt in my mind that this ‘collateral damage’ is one rotten fruit of legal abortion, the mother did not will it anymore than she wanted to be killed herself. And if she had survived, but the baby did not, would we dare tell the mother that she lost nothing? We should all be able to agree that, for crying out loud, if you can tell the sex of a baby then she deserves to be considered a legitimate victim in a homicide.

Violence against pregnant women is so wretchedly common that I think we can be assured this is not the last time it will happen in Connecticut. The least we can do is ensure that the full extent of such a crime is recognized, which means recognizing that TWO people are robbed of their lives.