Is this a woman's "right" to choose issue or a matter of unequal treatment under the law?

From Virginia we have the sad story of a woman who murdered her child on the day it was to be born by shooting herself in the belly. If someone else had killed her child they would have been charged with a crime, and rightfully so. However, a judge has ruled that the law doesn't apply to the "mother."

Because she shot herself earlier this year, General District Court Judge James A. Moore decided Monday that she can’t be tried for producing a miscarriage or abortion, and he dismissed the felony charge.

Skinner’s attorney argued at a preliminary hearing that the charge is meant to be used against a third party. It simply does not govern an expectant mother doing something to herself, Kevin E. Martingayle said.

Prosecutors could ask a grand jury for a direct indictment in the landmark case, but right now they are still trying to decide what to do, Commonwealth’s Attorney Phil Ferguson said . “We are dealing with a woman who, by her own hands, killed her child on the day of its birth,” he said. “This was a nine-month fetus, clearly in the realm of viability. Whether it meets legal tests to constitute criminal conduct – we’re reviewing and exploring our options.”

Skinner, 22, also was charged with using a firearm in commission of a felony. That charge was not prosecuted because it must apply to a certain list of felonies, not including the miscarriage statute. Skinner was found guilty Monday of filing a false police report, a misdemeanor for which the judge sentenced her to 30 days in jail, all suspended.

If she had waited a couple hours to murder the baby there would be no debate on whether it was murder. If you can make sense of any of this you're doing better than me.