INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana Republican lawmaker wants a person who is pregnant to be able to claim a fetus as a dependent child on their taxes.
The Senate’s Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee heard Senate Bill 98 Tuesday, authored by State Sen. Andy Zay, R-District 17.
This isn’t the first time Zay has brought this bill forward. He did last session, too.
The committee made clear Tuesday, though, that lawmakers would not be taking any action on Senate Bill 98 this session, and that bringing it in front of a lawmakers was just a way to continue the discussion on it.
Under Senate Bill 98, a fetus would be considered a dependent child, allowing for a $1,500 dependent child exemption at tax time. The person expecting the child would also qualify for a $1,000 personal exemption on their taxes.
According to Zay, the person filing the exemption would need to get a doctor’s signature verifying the pregnancy.
Zay also testified that in the cases of a miscarriage or still birth, a person could still qualify for the deduction with proof of the pregnancy.
Indiana Right to Life testified Tuesday in support of the bill, but said it should include an amendment requiring a pregnancy to be proven through a Social Security number or a fetal death certificate in the case of a miscarriage to help prevent fraud.
“We believe that acknowledging children from conception helps create a culture of life in Indiana and organizationally, we’re really excited to see parents rewarded for having children and to be encouraged to take good care of them,” said Jodi Smith, with Indiana Right to Life.
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Those who testified against the bill called it intrusive, saying it would subject those who are pregnant to surveillance by the state, possibly criminalizing them should something go wrong in the early stages of pregnancy.
“The bill takes the state of Indiana another step closer to criminalizing any behavior that is deemed to threaten a pregnancy, placing the rights of the fetus or embryo above the rights of the pregnant person,” said Haley Bougher, with Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates.
Current Indiana law defines a fetus as an unborn child, no matter its gestational age or the length of the pregnancy.
Supporters of the bill said it provides support to families during pregnancy.
Critics of the Senate Bill 98 said it does nothing to address concerns about the state’s maternal and infant mortality rates or the maternal health care deserts they say exist in a third of the state.