Even before she was sworn in to the Mississippi Legislature five years ago, Rep. Dana McLean, R-Columbus, had some legislation she wanted to pursue. One of those bills involved Katie Studdard and her daughter, Elyse.
House Bill 1542 would allow children born by in vitro fertilization after the death of a parent to be eligible as heirs when the parent leaves no will, a situation known in legal terms as intestacy. Elyse was born in 2018, 29 months after the death of her biological father, Chris McDill. For Katie, the birth of Elyse was the fulfillment of a dream she shared with her husband.
Six months after Chris’ death, Katie was informed that under Mississippi law, Katie and Elyse were not eligible for social security survivor benefits.
McLean filed the bill to change the state’s intestacy law to allow people like Katie and Elyse, who is now 6 years old, to receive those benefits.
Social security funds are federal funds, but states administer those funds and have their own rules about qualifications.
Now, five years later, McLean is still trying to get the bill into law, despite making incremental progress in each year’s legislative session. The first two years, the bill died in House Committee. In the past three sessions, the bill passed House votes by huge margins every year, unanimously this year. It has made it out of the Senate committee the past two years, only to die on the Senate calendar because Brice Wiggins, R-Pascagoula, refused to bring it up for a vote.
With roughly four million IVF births each year, more and more people find themselves in the position that Katie and Elyse have encountered.
It’s been 58 years since the first IVF birth, so updating these laws to address current realities should be little more than a formality by now.
While Wiggins would not elaborate on his concerns about the bill, McLean has talked to him enough to get an idea of those objections.
“I think most of the problem is that the lawyers on his committee are wary of extending probate up to 36 months, which is what the bill is asking for based on what other states have done,” McLean said.
After all, it’s not as though Wiggins would be plunging into unchartered territory. The 27 states that have made the change McLean is asking for would by now have exposed whatever unintended consequences there might be.
“I’m still optimistic, but I’ll admit I’m a little frustrated, too,” McLean said Monday.
After five years, who wouldn’t be?
There are two dates McLean has circled on her calendar. April 2 is the deadline for the bill to pass out of committee and onto the calendar for a vote. April 10 is the deadline for bringing bills on the calendar to a vote.
After dying on the Senate calendar for the past two years, perhaps third time’s the charm.
If Wiggins is determined to see Katie’s Bill die on the calendar for the third year in a row, the very least he can do is explain why so the bill can be revised to meet those concerns. That’s the way good government should operate.
Hiding beyond a vague argument about unintended consequences is a disservice to the people.
If you would like to let Wiggins know how you feel on this, you can reach him at the Capitol at (601) 359-3237 or by email at [email protected].
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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