Following the Supreme Court’s ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, the Georgia Department of Revenue announced that residents can claim a personal exemption of $3,000 for each unborn child.
The new rule, known as the Living Infants Fairness and Equality Act or LIFE Act, recognizes each unborn person as a human life as soon as their heartbeat is detected.
The department has issued the following guidance on the measure:
“A taxpayer who has an unborn child or children on or after July 20 through December 31, 2022, with a detectable human heartbeat may claim a dependent personal exemption in the amount of $3,000 for each unborn child on their 2022 tax return.”
The department goes on to say that like other deductions, relevant medical records must be provided to support the dependent claim.
Abortion proponents are slamming the policy.
Lauren Groh-Wargo, manager of Democrat candidate Stacey Abrams’s gubernatorial campaign tweeted: “So what happens when you claim your fetus as a dependent and then miscarry later in the pregnancy, you get investigated both for tax fraud and an illegal abortion?”
While it is unclear how the law would apply to miscarriages, pro-lifers applaud the idea behind the move.
Elizabeth Reed is the Leadership Director of Georgia Life Alliance, a group that lobbied legislators to approve the measure. “I think this act, and then other measures we have worked really hard on here in Georgia, provide a lot of wraparound services and support to the women who need it most who are facing a crisis in their pregnancy,” Reed told CBN News.
Reed hopes the new law shows struggling expectant mothers that there is help.
“Even if the baby’s father is not supportive or maybe they don’t have a supportive family network or support system. They’re not alone. They’re going to have one through the pro-life movement, through the church and through the state,” explained Reed.
Pastor Garland Hunt of the Father’s House in Norcross, GA agrees with the state’s action.
“That child is a person that’s growing in what should be the most protected place for a child to grow, inside its mother’s womb,” Hunt said in an interview with CBN News. “So certainly, any provision that can help a mother be a mother I think is a good thing.”
Meanwhile, Reed hopes other states will adopt similar policies in support of life.
“I really am encouraged by all the attention that we’re getting across the nation about this law,” she said. “I think that that’s making the case for our compelling interest in protecting and supporting life in the womb.”
The remainder of this article is available in its entirety at CBN