News

By Tim Waggoner

Surrey, B.C., June 17, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Yesterday, two men were convicted of first-degree murder in the stabbing of a pregnant Surrey B.C. woman in 2005.  One of the men, Amjad Khan, was the father of the unborn baby. However, neither of the men was prosecuted for the death of the child, since no provision currently exists in Canadian law to do so.

This recent conviction comes in the wake of a growing trend of abuse and violent crimes aimed at pregnant women. Frequently such attacks are perpetrated by the partners of women who refuse to abort a child not wanted by the father.

Four-month pregnant Tasha Lynn Rossette, who was already the mother of a three-year old girl, who was being babysat by a friend on the evening of the attack, was assaulted upon entering her home after a night out.  The 21-year-old was stabbed and killed by Khan and accomplice Naim Mohammed Saghir. 

In an interview with the Surrey North Delta Leader, the mother of Rossette, Simone, who is now taking care of the three-year old orphaned daughter, commented on how devastating the situation has been.

“I told her her mom is an angel up in heaven and she (Jasmine) looks up at the sky all the time now,” Rossette said.

Jasmine, who has been calling her grandmother “mom”, constantly thinks about her mother, and has been having terrible nightmares.

“I’m thinking about it all the time (too),” added Rossette. “People say it gets better with time. It doesn’t.”

No justice has been obtained for the murder of the unborn baby because Canada has no laws protecting the unborn. For this reason, MP Ken Epp has introduced the widely approved-of private members bill C-484.

Bill C-484 seeks to prosecute anyone who harms an unborn baby without a mother’s consent.  The bill is currently waiting to enter third reading in the House of Commons.

According to the Vancouver Sun, Corrine Arthur, Program Manager of Community Victims Services at Surrey Women’s Centre, has commented on the increasing number of incidents of violence against women in general, and pregnant women in particular.

“If there’s violence going on in the relationship, [pregnancy] is a major risk factor,” Arthur said. “She’s going to be experiencing likely more violence at that time and the potential for fatal violence.”

The two Surrey men face life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years.

See related news:

9-Month Pregnant Women Slain – Murder of Unborn Child Will Go Unpunished
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/jun/08061007.html