One of the key questions in the debate over legal abortion is just when life begins.
For some, it starts at conception. For others, not until an infant draws the first breath. Mosts, we suspect, would say somewhere between the extremes.
Before Roe v. Wade was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, some states relied on a detectable fetal heartbeat to determine life when crafting restrictive abortion laws. One such state was Georgia. The state's ban on abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected held up in court still stands.
One can argue about the standard, but Georgia's devotion to it is pretty solid -- you might even say the state is putting it's money where it's law stands.
On Monday, the state revenue officials announced Georgia taxpayers can claim the $3,000 dependent income tax credit for an unborn child that had a detectable heartbeat by July 20.
Michigan passed a similar but less generous $200 credit last year. And there is a bill passed off to committee in Congress of to allow such a break on federal income tax returns.
We are sure Georgia's parents-to-be are happy about this. And we have to admire the Peach State's commitment to its principles. But a lot of other states out there -- including Arkansas -- have income taxes and claim to be pro-life to the extreme. We wonder how many will back up those claims when it affects the bottom line?