Michigan is trying to backdoor abortion legislation through the tax code.

There have been so many topics of discussion come up this week and so little time to write about them, but let's go ahead and talk about one that really goes above and beyond in the “right-wing nut-job” department. State legislators in Michigan are considering giving a tax credit for unborn fetuses who are past 12 weeks in gestation. What makes this a really odd gesture is the fact that the same legislature took away the child tax credit for families last year that had living breathing kids in their households. Basically parents can't take a tax break for kids that are already born, but fetuses are worthy of that tax break.

Now I could be wrong, and it's highly unlikely that I am, but this sure smells like a roundabout way of getting “person-hood” on the books even though attempts to get amendments in states have failed at the ballot box. The fact that voters don't approve of these person-hood laws really doesn't matter to the people who are elected to represent the voters. All that matters to them is that they get something on the books that they can backdoor in punishment for abortion or restrict it altogether.

Let's look at this rationally. The only reason that the legislature would want to do this is because once a taxpayer has taken advantage of this tax credit, they are going to be subject to punishment if they choose to end the pregnancy. The state can call it tax fraud and get away with stripping the mother of her right to choose. It also means that even if a pregnancy is terminated through miscarriage rather than abortion ,the state will have the “right” to force the mother to prove that she didn't terminate the pregnancy or face potential tax fraud charges and jail time. This is just another means by which the religious right will try to force their way into a woman's right to choose. After all, they well know that tax fraud is how they catch most real criminals, so why not use the same method to criminalize abortion without actually making abortion itself illegal. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see what is going on here and the right really isn't known for being subtle in their methods.  It's obvious that these people only care about kids right up until they are born, then they have no political use for them whatsoever and that makes this newest attempt to take control of women's bodies even more abhorrent.  The right loves the unborn but hates the living and that is becoming more and more clear every day.     

We can only hope that if the legislature gets this through that the voters show their displeasure at the ballot box during the next election cycle and toss these evil bastards out on their collective asses. Seriously, this is getting ridiculous. A woman's right to choose should not be a political issue and the right should not be wasting the tax payer's dollars on this nonsense. There are far greater problems in this nation that need to be solved – A real national health plan, jobs for the unemployed, jobs for veterans, fair taxation that makes those earning more actually pay their fair share and so much more. The abortion debate is nothing more than a smoke screen, just like the rest of the religious talking points to take the attention of the public away from the issues that really need to be solved. It's time for people to wake up and tell their legislators that they need to take up real issues or they will have to find a new job after the next election.  Tell them that these backdoor attempts at legislating anti abortion laws are not going to work.