Kill your girlfriend: 16 years. Kill her 8-week-old fetus: 20

I'm shocked by this story, reporting on the sentencing of a Mesa, Arizona man who struck his pregnant girlfriend and gave her brain damage which eventually killed her and, consequently, the 8 week old fetus she was carrying.

Apparently in Arizona there is "Dangerous Crimes Against Children" legislation which led to an increased sentence for the killer.

Why does this shock me?

Because the penalty for killing the fetus was 4 years greater than for the killing of this man's girlfriend. If this fetus was going to be born to become a woman, this means that in the eyes of the Arizona law, an unborn woman-to-be is more valuable than an adult woman.

I don't understand how we are moving in this direction legally in the US, pushing for laws that protect unborn children while failing to value the lives of adult women or to sufficiently protect their safety from violence in the home from the very people who are supposed to protect and care for them.

When I read stories like this, I can't help but be nervous to live in a country where many people apparently view women as mere baby incubators without intrinsic value of their own beyond their child bearing capacities.