Man Convicted, Killed Pregnant Girlfriend Refusing Abortion

State   |   Sarah Terzo   |   Jan 25, 2012   |   1:45PM   |   Miami, FL

In Broward County, Florida, a man has been convicted of two counts of murder for killing a pregnant woman and her unborn baby. The court determined that Edward Jermaine Babbs killed Stephanie Rabsatt by shooting her in the abdomen and head on Oct.1, 2009.

Rabsatt was almost 8 months pregnant with a son, who she had named Jayden. Babbs, who was the baby’s father, had been pressuring her to abort. Her refusal to have an abortion and the imminent birth of her son was what triggered the murder, according to police.

Rasblatts’ family was in the courtroom when Babbs was sentenced to life in prison. They tearfully told reporters that they felt justice had been done but that the grief of losing their loved ones would never go away.

“She was a brilliant child,” Rabsatt’s mother, Karen Moore, said after the verdict was revealed, “She was loving and kind, and she loved her baby.”

Florida is a state where an individual can be charged with two counts of murder for killing a pregnant woman and her unborn baby. Such crimes are all too common in the United States. In fact, murder is the number one cause of death for pregnant women and their children.(1) Pro-Choice organizations oppose laws that would allow for the conviction of men who kill unborn babies along with their mothers. According to Kate Michelman, former president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, who was speaking about such legislation, “It’s so crass, so offensive.  It’s part of a larger strategy to establish the embryo with separate distinct rights equal to if not greater than the woman.” (2)

Pro-Choice organizations consistently oppose laws that allow for double charges in the event of a pregnant woman’s death, despite the wishes of the families, who usually want both murders prosecuted.

  1.  I.L. Horton and D. Cheng, “Enhanced Surveillance for Pregnancy-Associated Mortality-Maryland, 1993-1998,” JAMA 285(11): 1455-1459 (2001); see also J. Mcfarlane et. al., “Abuse During Pregnancy and Femicide: Urgent Implications for Women’s Health,” Obstetrics & Gynecology 100: 27-36 (2002).
  2. Debra Rosenberg  “The War over Fetal Rights” Newsweek, June 9, 2003, 44

LifeNews.com Note: Sarah Terzo is a pro-life liberal who runs ClinicQuotes.com, a web site devoted to exposing the abortion industry.