Help For Parents Of Stillborns

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Some financial relief might be coming soon to parents of stillborn babies in Michigan. State Representative Mary Whiteford of Casco Township has put forward a bill which would provide those parents with a one-time personal exemption on their income taxes.

“It’s not Republican, it’s not Democratic, it’s not conservative or liberal, it’s about people and babies and families, and that’s what’s most important,” Whiteford says.

She says the tax credit can be used to help ease the financial burden of families by helping to pay for prenatal care and funeral bills.

“What we are doing is adding a one-time tax exemption for families who lose a baby who is 20 to 40 weeks gestation,” Whiteford says, adding “This is one thing we can do is allow families to have the one-time exemption, have a little extra money to help bury that baby and say ‘we’re really sorry this happened, but we’re going to be there for you as much as we can.'”

Whiteford testified on the bill last week before the House Tax Policy Committee, and expects the panel will take a vote on it this week.