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Senate bill would create one-time tax credit for parents of stillborn children; two parents testify about financial and emotional toll
Summary
Sen. Waldstreicher presented SB 414, which would grant a one-time state tax credit to parents of stillborn children in the year of the stillbirth; two mothers testified about the emotional and financial costs of burial and related expenses.
Senator Waldstreicher introduced Senate Bill 414 at the Ways and Means Committee hearing on March 27, describing the measure as a one-time income tax credit for parents who experience a stillbirth in the year of the loss and saying the bill "provides a small comfort for a deep wound." He told the committee the bill requires documentation of the stillbirth from the Vital Records Administration within the State Department of Health, which already issues such records.
Two parents testified about their experiences. Lauren (last name not provided in testimony) recounted preparing for a live birth and then learning at 20 weeks that her daughter, Ava, had "a 0 percent chance of survival"; she described being forced to make rapid, heartbreaking decisions about remains and funeral arrangements, and asked the committee to pass SB 414 so families would not have to choose between grieving and finances. She said, "Imagine being unable to afford the burial or cremation of your child because of unexpected expenses."
Jessica Brady Reeder, a Kensington resident, told the committee that after a routine checkup in the final weeks of pregnancy she learned her daughter Franchesca had died. She said funeral and cremation costs ran into the thousands on top of expenses already incurred preparing for a child and that, when filing taxes, "it felt like nothing about Francesca counted." She urged passage of the bill and said stillbirth disproportionately affects Black and Hispanic parents at about twice the rate of White parents, as stated in her testimony.
Waldstreicher told the committee SB 414 would make Maryland the ninth state to enact similar relief and asked members to consider an accompanying Baltimore Banner article placed on committee desks. The sponsor and witnesses framed the bill as a modest financial relief and an official acknowledgement of grief for families who experience stillbirth. The committee offered condolences and heard testimony but did not record a final vote during the hearing.
The bill's text calls for a one-time tax credit in the year of the stillbirth and requires documentation from the Vital Records Administration; the hearing record did not include the credit amount or a fiscal note in the testimony presented to the committee.
