SALEM, Ore. -- A bill that increases the punishment for the murder of a pregnant woman unanimously passed the Oregon Senate this week and now heads to the governor's desk.

Heather Snively

But the bill was drastically reworded to emphasize protecting pregnant women from assault; the legislation's original intent was to make it a crime to kill an unborn baby.

The debate arose earlier in June after a 21-year-old pregnant woman was found dead in the crawl space of her Beaverton home.

Her unborn child had been cut from her womb, according to police.

 More: Pregnant woman killed

A woman that Heather Snively met on Craigslist allegedly attempted to pass the stolen baby off as her own but the child died.

Korena Roberts faces a long list of murder, assault and robbery charges for allegedly killing Snively but she was not charged with murdering the unborn baby.

The original bill, initiated by Sen. Bruce Starr, R-Hillsboro, contained language that referred specifically to the death of an unborn fetus. The wording was changed this week to omit reference to unborn fetuses and focus instead on the mother.

Starr's top aide Dawn Phillips said the original wording received mute response from the Democratic leadership.

Past attempts at such a law have devolved into a debate about abortion rights.

The new law requires a high price of offenders.

Anyone convicted under the bill faces life without parole, or a minimum of 30 years with a chance of parole and those who assault pregnant women also face stiffer charges.

Starr was able to enlist the help of Oregon's district attorneys to move the bill forward as a maternal homicide bill.

Especially gratifying for the the DAs, Phillips said, is a provision of the bill that specifically singles out pregnant  women as a class of victim in assaults.

Attacking a pregnant mother will now bring with it a first-degree assault charge, up to 20 years in prison and a $375,000 penalty, Phillips said.

The House passed the measure 58-1. It sailed through the Senate unopposed. Gov. Ted Kulongoski was expected to sign it into law.

 Background: Pregnant woman killed