"Why should anyone be surprised that this moron drove drunk with her child in the car? We have so devalued human life in the US that there are some among us I'm sure who would think that if the child died as a result, as in the cited Albuquerque case, no matter, the child was expendable."
The woman most likely drove drunk with a 1-week-old in the car because she's friggin' sot. Somehow I just don't see her sitting around saying to herself, "You know, there are so many abortions and now with this Terry Shiavo thing, I think I'll get drunk and drive around with my baby and see if I can kill him/her. It really doesn't matter."
No argument here.
My point was not towards her actions from her perspective, but our general reaction overall to her behavior. We are less and less concerned overall for the value of the lives of children. Endangering a child no longer violates our norms, its incidental to the main problem of her behavior.