In Ohio, a new legislative initiative has been unveiled which has the potential to have far-reaching consequences on state tax regulations as well as how unborn babies are perceived financially. This piece of legislation referred to as the Strategic Tax Opportunities for Raising Kids (STORK) Act was announced by Gary Click (R-Vickery), a member of the State Legislature. If the bill becomes law, parents will be able to include their unborn children among dependents in computing their taxable income, thus giving them tax exemptions.
Rep. Click shared a video on his official X handle, formerly Twitter stating that parents can claim their child as deduction on state taxes. Click titled the video “The STORK Act is now officially House Bill 65”, He said, “You can claim your child as a deduction on your state taxes the year that they were conceived and not the year that they were born… And that is going to help young families get a head start.”
The STORK Act recognizes that expenses related to bringing up a child start well ahead of the actual birth, and seeks to relieve families’ financial challenges.
How the STORK proposal would work
Ohioans could get tax credits for their unborn kids if conceived within a taxable year under the STORK. proposal. The suggested bill allows families to deduct expenses specified for such children on the state income tax they file once their baby is conceived. Click states that it should provide a chance to receive financial assistance to everyone irrespective of the child’s birth year.
To be eligible for a deduction, parents would be required to document that they conceived within the tax year. The stork proposal has no specification of what proof would entail but this requirement is important. Click claims this monetary alleviation shall be to everyone who has children irrespective of their feeling towards reproductive rights. He states, “Pro Choice people often choose life. You can be pro-choice and choose to have children. Many people do, and they deserve this benefit just as much as pro-life people do.”
The broader context: fetal personhood in the U.S. legislation
The STORK proposal is not the first legislative effort made in the U.S to acknowledge the existence of unborn kids. Different forms of laws defining fetal personhood have been enacted by several states. An instance is how both Georgia and Utah permit declaring dependent unborn children on state taxes. Additionally, multiple states exist where murdering a pregnant woman is termed double killing, this shows an acknowledgement of the fetal life.
What’s next for the STORK proposal
Currently, no committee has been assigned to the STORK plan, and its future is still very much in doubt. Click realizes that this may not be the best time for the present general assembly, although he plans to change some parts of the bill according to advice received when he presents it again during the 136th General Assembly. As he told Newsweek, “While it is late in the year to expect passage during the general assembly, it is a great time to have the conversation.”
The STORK Act has generated a significant discussion on the way unborn babies should be acknowledged in a state and what that can mean for families and their reproductive rights. The result of this proposal will probably be the model for further legislative undertakings in different states.
