NEWS: Have a miscarriage, get a tax deduction

[Dave in Dallas]

From
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10411-2005Apr22.html

The Bush administration issued guidelines yesterday advising
physicians and hospitals that under a 2002 law they are obligated to
care for fetuses "born alive" naturally or in the process of an
abortion, and medical providers could face penalties for withholding
treatment.

The law, signed by President Bush nearly three years ago, conferred
legal rights on fetuses "at any stage of development." It specifies
that a fetus that is breathing, has a beating heart, a pulsating
umbilical cord or muscle movement should be considered alive and
entitled to protection under federal emergency medical laws and child
abuse statutes.

Several physicians interviewed yesterday said that definition appeared
overly broad, as muscle twitching can occur after death.

Initially, the Department of Health and Human Services did not see the
need to issue guidance on the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act. But
shortly after his confirmation in January, Health and Human Services
Secretary Mike Leavitt said he "received several inquiries on whether"
the department was planning to develop regulations.

...

Leavitt's aides refused to say who made the inquiries or whether the
government had received any complaints of abuse or neglect involving a
just-born or aborted fetus.

It wouldn't surprise me if the RTL crowd was behind the inquiries and
that either no complaints were involved or if they were that they were
unfounded claims made by the RTL nuts.

The article ends with the following bit of information:

The most significant impact of the 2002 law, Grimes said, was a
record-keeping change. Previously, a miscarriage before viability was
classified as a spontaneous abortion. Under the new provision, it is
recorded as a live birth followed by a neonatal death, and parents can
claim the child as a tax deduction for that year, he said.

Only the RTL nutjobs could imagine classifying a miscarriage as a live
birth. I wonder if this would qualify every woman who miscarries even
the tiniest embryo to claim a child deduction. After all, that little
blob, that may very likely go unnoticed, is a living human who just
happens to die the moment it emerges from the womb.

I wonder what the reaction would be if women began showing up at the
hospital with little blod clots, demanding that it be examined to
determine whether it is indeed a miscarriage, and if so to demand that
the proper paperwork (does this involve issuance of both a birth and
death certificate?) be completed so she can claim a deduction for Lil'
Blastocyst on her taxes.

 

[Dave in Dallas]

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