Family charged 'death tax' for baby who lived one hour

You know what I see here? That there's no story too sad that somebody wont use it to further their wingnuttery. Some RL for you:

Back in the mid 90's the UK was under Conservative government. Despite their best efforts, the UK was still way more socialist than any State of the USA today. My family lost a baby during birth. There was nothing suspicious about it: there were just several factors which added up to a protracted labour & the poor sod couldn't stand the strain. We had the option to have an autopsy performed, in an attempt to determine the exact cause of death. We could also stipulate how the procedure was carried out - no charge.

We were an unorthodox family of 1 man (me), 2 women & 3 young kids. B/c of the difficult circumstances surrounding the event, our intended child-care arrangements were screwed. The hospital looked after them - no charge.

After the gory bits were over, the staff brought the kids, with toys, mats etc to join us, a couple of reclining arm chairs & a Health Care Assistant so we could all try to come to terms with what had happened & get some rest - no charge.

We had to shift from the birthing suite eventually b/c they needed to get another woman in there. They also whisked our dead baby off to the morgue during this move. Some friends of ours turned up a bit later & wanted to see the baby. The hospital set him up in a crib, in a non-religious room attached to their chapel, for that purpose. Our group was then 9 adults & 6 kids. We camped out in that hospital for another 2 days - no charge.

I was a bit surprised to hear that when a baby dies in the UK, the undertakers deal with the remains for free. I dont remember (& possibly never knew) whether this is the law, or if they waive their fees pro bono. I expect that a fancy casket &/or burial would cost, but a cremation doesn't. If you want to take the ashes away, you have to tell the crem in advance & provide a receptacle. I was very surprised @just how far everyone goes to sheild you from paper work - no charge.

You do realize that they get the child deduction for the entire year for state and federal taxes. 50$ not a problem

Disgusting.. Worst thing in the world is for a parent to lose a child.. But to get taxed on it has to be a new low... What ever happened to compassion ? Truly sad that the only thing that seems to matter in america is damn money...

reply to post by Bunken Drum

Thanks for sharing your story.

I have to wonder though...who actually supplied the funds for the personnel to carry out the duties they carried out for the deceased and the family? I can't help but think that they (all of the various people involved) did not do it for free out of the goodness of their hearts...did they clock out before they performed all of those services?

What about the actual medical supplies necessary for such postmortem proceedings, or the power to have the lights on while you guys were occupying the birthing room? They had to have been purchased somehow.

Very interesting.

Thanks again for sharing.

reply to post by MMPI2You're right, someone had to pay for all of the above. Just as someone has to pay for the bit of bureaucracy that cant be avoided: within a time limit (3weeks I think) you're legally obliged to register the birth & death at the local Registrar's Office - no charge.
All of us that are earning enough to pay tax pay for it. Personally I find it comforting. There have been times where I've earned a lot &, naturally, bemoaned the amount of tax I've had to pay, & times like now where I'm just scraping by, but still have to pay my National Insurance contributions for each week that I have employment. Who knows when disaster will strike? Thats the whole problem with disaster, it isn't a problem if you're earning enough @the time to deal with it.

There were circumstances surrounding what happened with us that had me close to the edge of wigging out. The baby's death pushed me right to the very edge. I'm glad to know that if anyone else finds themselves in that position, the mechanisms to help them are in place, here in the UK. Its not just that I'll be looked after if I need it, its that I'm a lot less likely to be an "innocent bystander" statistic when we've all paid in to a common pot to deal with the common tragedies that affect individuals, than if some poxy $50 charge turns out to be the straw that breaks the camel's back of some distraught person's sanity. Enlightened self interest...

Hey, as it happens I've usually been in a position to have afforded insurance, but I realise that many people cant & that many insurance policies just so happen to exclude the kind of problems which actually do occur frequently enough that you really want insurance against them. Its obvious really. There's just no profit for a private business in paying out all the time. For a society however, the profit isn't money, its healthy, sane, productive, non-destructive people. I'd rather more of my tax went on care than war...