Westport man arrested for trying to choke pregnant woman

A man from Westport, Connecticut, has been arrested after allegedly trying to strangle a pregnant woman during a domestic scuffle, telling her he was going to kill her.

Police say the incident, which happened in February, is now igniting questions about how seriously the law and culture treat violence against both mothers and their preborn children.

Key Takeaways:

• Tae Juan Foskey allegedly tried to choke his his girlfriend during an argument and threatened to kill her.

• The victim, who has not been named, was pregnant at the time.

• Violence against pregnant women is incredibly common.

According to Long Island News, Westport police said 27‑year‑old Tae Juan Foskey argued with the victim and then tried to choke her by preventing her from breathing. Officers say the woman, who was pregnant at the time, told police that Foskey threatened to kill her during the attack.

Subsequently, the victim reached out to police on February  21, and officers obtained a warrant for Foskey’s arrest according to her account of what happened, but made several futile attempts to serve the warrant. 

Police say Foskey later turned himself in at the Westport police station on a Sunday. He was charged with assault of a pregnant victim and criminal attempt at strangulation, and authorities set his bond at $100,000.

Foskey is scheduled to appear in state Superior Court in Stamford, Connecticut, on April 14. 

Zoom Out:

Authorities in similar cases have described victims who lost consciousness or were on the brink of it as their assailants strangled or choked them, sometimes lifting them off the ground or pinning them so they could not escape. When such an attack is directed at a pregnant woman, the baby faces serious health risks, including loss of oxygen, placental injury, and even death.

After the attacks, victims are typically rushed to the hospital, where emergency personnel evaluate for internal injuries and fetal distress using monitoring and ultrasound. In one recent case, the pregnant victim acknowledged that she could no longer feel her baby move after being choked and punched in the abdomen and torso, sparking emergency checks and distress as to whether the baby survived. 

Unfortunately, public figures demonstrate how ubiquitous such crimes are. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported that a considerable number of women experience violence when pregnant, and that homicide is a major cause of death for pregnant and postpartum women, often exceeding common medical complications like hemorrhage or infection. Pregnant women’s intimate partners are typically entwined in their deaths, showcasing how the degree of the threat to a mother and child can hail from someone in her own life. 

Additionally, the often neglected reality is that an assault on a pregnant woman attacks two lives, the pregnant woman’s and that of her unborn child — even if police records do not overtly refer to the unborn child. 

The Bottom Line:

Safeguarding all lives includes standing with women who are threatened, manipulated, or assaulted because they are carrying a child. A culture that fails to consistently admit the dignity of preborn children leaves both mothers and babies more susceptible to precisely this type of abuse.

To counter such a pro-abortion culture, churches, pregnancy resource centers, and community groups can offer safe housing, legal support, and practical aid for women who are pregnant and scared to escape an abusive situation. Pro-lifers can also pressure lawmakers and prosecutors to guarantee that attacks on pregnant women are charged and sentenced in ways that mirror the reality of two lives at stake.