Are Embryos Dependents? New Georgia Policy Latest Anti-Abortion Effort To Give Tax Credits During Pregnancy

Topline

The Georgia Department of Revenue now classifies any embryo or fetus with cardiac activity as a dependent eligible for child tax credits, part of a broader effort among anti-abortion advocates to implement child tax credits during pregnancy that could gain new steam in the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.

An anti-abortion activist holds a sign outside the U.S. Supreme Court during the 48th annual March … [+] for Life on January 29, 2021 in Washington, D.C.

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Key Facts

The Georgia policy allows anyone who’s been pregnant with an “unborn child” with a fetal heartbeat—which can be detected as early as six weeks into a pregnancy—to get $3,000 in personal tax exemptions per child when they file their tax return.

The policy is based on Georgia’s six-week abortion ban, which grants personhood rights to fetuses, which had been blocked in court but took effect after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

Georgia’s policy comes after Michigan House lawmakers previously passed a $200 tax credit for fetuses after 12 weeks gestation in 2021.

Republican lawmakers in Congress introduced a bill in January that would give child tax credits to unborn children starting at fertilization, and introduced a second bill in mid-July that would allow child support payments to be issued during pregnancies.

The federal child tax credit bill allows credits to be issued in cases of miscarriages or stillborn births, but not abortions, specifying there’s no tax benefit in cases where the unborn child died as “a result of an induced abortion or any other act that was intended by the mother to cause the death of the unborn child,” excluding ectopic pregnancies.

Georgia’s policy wouldn’t apply to anyone who gets an abortion within the state—as its six-week abortion ban means any embryo would be aborted before it meets the criteria for a tax credit—but the Department of Revenue has not yet responded to a request for comment on whether it would apply to miscarriages or when a person travels out of state for an abortion after there’s cardiac activity.

Crucial Quote

“Expecting parents begin providing and preparing for their child the minute they learn they’re having a baby—the Child Tax Credit should reflect the fact that unborn children are children too,” Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) said about the Child Tax Credit for Pregnant Moms Act, which he introduced with other GOP lawmakers. “From prenatal care to stocking up on baby supplies, this tax relief will help parents prepare for the arrival of their baby.”

Chief Critic

Abortion rights advocates have heavily criticized federal efforts to give benefits to fetuses, arguing that while the tax credits may be beneficial, the bill is designed to let Republicans insert fetal personhood rights into federal law that could then be used to justify other restrictions on reproductive rights. “This is not the first time they’ve tried to insert this personhood language into a national bill,” Mississippi Reproductive Freedom Fund co-founder Laurie Bertram Roberts told the Mississippi Free Press in July after the Unborn Child Support Act was introduced. “The way they’re doing it is very sneaky … under the guise of, ‘Oh look, doesn’t this make sense?’ Because this is one of those arguments that has been coming from people who actually support abortion.”

Key Background

The Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade has renewed a debate over what rights should be given to embryos and fetuses before birth, possibly leading to more “fetal personhood” laws that would give the unborn the same rights and legal protections as humans post-birth. In addition to fiscal issues like tax credits, those rights could lead to consequences like increased legal liability for anyone who intentionally or unintentionally terminates a pregnancy—like if a pregnant person were in a car accident and lost the baby, for instance—or restrictions on in vitro fertilization, among other implications. Republicans’ push for child tax credits for the unborn is also in line with an argument among anti-abortion advocates that the government should strengthen the social safety net if abortion is outlawed and more pregnancies are carried to term. A New York Times analysis shows that in practice, states that ban or heavily restrict abortion tend to have the least supportive policies, however.

Tangent

The question of what rights the unborn should have has also played out in Texas, where a pregnant woman was given a ticket for driving in the HOV lane by herself. The woman argued her unborn child qualified as a person under Texas’ abortion ban and thus she was in line with the law. The legal debate over her fetus does qualify as a person is still playing out in court.