The state of Georgia’s tax department is now saying that residents can claim an unborn fetus as a dependent on their state tax filings.

Georgia passed a law banning abortions before six weeks; the trigger law was able to take effect when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade and was given the go-ahead by a court ruling.

The tax exemption for fetuses marks an acknowledgement that a fetus with a heartbeat, or electrical activity that is a precursor to a heartbeat, is a person and can therefore be considered eligible as a dependent. 

According to the Georgia Department of Revenue, a pregnant woman is now eligible for a $3,000 deduction per fetus, as of July 20, 2022, when the law went into effect, on her 2022 taxes. 

Families and pregnant women must be very happy about the extra money. 

The guidance from the tax department reminded taxpayers that proof, i.e., supportive medical records, of the pregnancy would have to be shown to claim a fetus as a “dependent minor.” 

The anti-abortion “heartbeat law” defines an unborn child as “a member of the species homo sapiens at any stage of development who is carried in the womb.”

Arizona also included in its abortion laws that a fetus should be recognized with “personhood,” but the Arizona statute is being challenged in court.

The development raises important questions about the rights of unborn children. The Constitution of the United States says citizenship begins at birth. Anti-abortion conservatives are extending rights to fetuses and even a fertilized embryo. 

Assigning personhood to unborn children can have wider implications, including inheritance rights, census and other population counts that affect voter districts, and other rights or issues not pondered yet.

How far can this go?