With the nullification of Roe v Wade states are starting to choose their own paths on abortion, and the state of Georgia is bolstering its ban on the procedure with legislation aimed at establishing fetal life as real life worthy of consideration.
And they are putting their money where their mouth is.
A provision in the state’s ban on abortions after six weeks now lets people claim embryos and fetuses as dependents worth a $3,000 tax credit, reports DailyMail.com.
Georgia will also regard these unborn humans as legal residents, counting them in its census as part of the state population. A mother will also be allowed to file for child support once a fetus’ heartbeat can be detected, which typically is at about six weeks, and fathers will be required to provide child support.
An injunction of the state’s ban on abortions was overruled in federal appeals court on July 20, and that allowed the law, first introduced in 2019, to take effect less than a month after Roe v Wade was momentously overturned.
Critics voiced fears like a mother claiming an unborn child on her taxes and then having a miscarriage, or traveling out of state for an abortion. They also claimed the new law would protect the lives of embryos and fetuses at the expense of mothers’.
The provisions would even let “Gov. [Brian] Kemp and his radical political allies … force Georgians to carry pregnancies and give birth against their will, with profound medical risk and life-altering consequences,” said Julia Kaye, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union Reproductive Freedom Project.
Kemp said in July: “Since taking office in 2019, our family has committed to serving Georgia in a way that cherishes and values each and every human being, and today’s decision by the 11th Circuit affirms our promise to protect life at all stages.”
The new law makes abortions illegal after six weeks, which is sometimes before a woman knows she is pregnant. It includes exceptions for rape, incest, or a pregnancy that puts the mother’s life in danger.
Appeals of the law have argued that considering a fetus or embryo a “natural person” is unconstitutionally vague, but Chief Judge William Pryor disagreed in his decision to uphold the bill.
