Currently, state law does not consider a killing a double homicide when an expectant mother is slain.

CNN: Pregnant mom stabbed on her newspaper route

No, but you could be forgiven for thinking so, judging by the hysterical reaction that often greets an expectant mother who dares to sip Chardonnay.

WSJ: Erica Jong on the Madness of Modern Motherhood

From an expectant mother's first scan in an NHS hospital at about 12 weeks, future parents will get texts and emails linking to information films and advice directly relating to the development of their child at that point.

BBC: Creating the super-nanny state

But still, the expectant mother jokes that she would be an old lady before she could ever afford a home of her own in Beijing without government help.

BBC: Home ownership dreams in booming Beijing

Into this crisis comes the weary Theo (Clive Owen), who is asked by an old girlfriend (Julianne Moore) to guide the expectant mother to freedom through a landscape of tribulation and trial.

NEWYORKER: Children of Men