Grieving parents may have won their yearslong fight to get their stillborn children recognized during tax season.

The Maryland General Assembly approved a refundable credit of up to $1,000 against state income tax for parents of stillborn babies. The credit was added as an amendment to an income tax bill that will head to Gov. Wes Moore for consideration.

If Moore signs the bill into law, Maryland would become one of at least 10 states that offer tax credits or deductions for parents of stillborn babies.

“Governor Moore knows that families who have experienced the grief of losing a stillborn child carry an immeasurable burden — and that the financial costs of preparing for and losing that child are every bit as real as the heartbreak itself,” Moore spokesperson Rhyan Lake said in an email. “The Governor looks forward to reviewing this legislation with those sobering realities in mind.”

Parents of stillborn children must pay for burial or cremation, on top of money they already spent on items like diapers, onesies and cribs — costs they could partially recoup with the proposed tax credit. Under the amendment, parents earning at least $150,000 and filing jointly would receive a slightly reduced credit.

Sen. Jeff Waldstreicher, a Democrat representing Montgomery County, introduced the credit as a standalone bill during this year’s and last year’s legislative sessions. The bill advanced further this year but stalled in the House Ways and Means Committee.

Waldstreicher said he wanted to make sure he represented stillbirth parents “who have gone through so much trauma.” So when an opportunity arose to amend another bill moving through the legislature, he took it.

The state senator said he deeply admires the courage and tenacity of the parents who shared the worst day of their lives with legislators year after year.

One of those parent advocates was Jessica Brady Reader, who delivered a stillborn daughter named Francesca nearly five years ago. Though she won’t personally benefit from the tax credit, Reader felt “absolute relief and gratitude.”

“I still have this feeling now of my daughter being recognized in a way that I hope other families in the future who would seek this credit will get,” Reader said. “I also hope that they, in their grief, can now feel deeply that their children are seen and counted by the state in the way that they deserve.”

Reader said she hopes the legislation will raise awareness about stillbirths and inspire the state to find ways to prevent them.

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