code that women and children are off limits might be how Sonny and the rest of the Five Families are supposed to live by--isn't really worth squat. Their code isn't some invisible shield.
Let's take a walk down memory lane of the collateral damage shall we?:
1. Lilly & child = car bomb
2. Michael/Morgan/Kristina = kidnapped
3. Michael = shot in the head
4. Justus Ward = shot dead
5. Morgan = car bomb
6. Carly = shot in the head while giving birth
7. Kristina Cassadine = warehouse bomb
8. Kristina Davis = nearly blown up via car bomb
9. Dante = shot by pops (doesn't matter if Sonny knew)
10. Brenda = sprayed by bullets while showering
11. Alexis = sprayed with bullets standing by Sonny
12. Lulu Falconeri = coma due to bomb
13. Dev = dead due to bomb
14. Dustin = dead due to bomb
15. Nikolas = shot in the throat
16. Laura = shot at in nursery with infant Lulu
And that's just off the top of my head. I'm sure I am missing some instances.