Critics say proposal was 'absurd' and described it as a backdoor way of trying to pass 'personhood' legislation

Republican lawmakers in Michigan, a state which eliminated tax credits for children last year, have proposed a tax credit for unborn foetuses of 12 weeks gestation.

If the measure, outlined in two bills heard by the house tax policy committee on Tuesday, becomes law it would be the first of its kind in the US.

Critics said the proposal was "absurd" and described it as a backdoor way of trying to pass "personhood" legislation which would give rights to an embryo and crack down on abortion.

The Michigan house of representatives this year passed part of a three-bill package that would restrict access to abortion and heavily regulate clinic that performs them. Republican leaders have come under fire for banning a Democrat from speaking after she said the word "vagina" in a debate on an abortion bill earlier this year.

One of the main sponsors of the foetus tax credit bill, Jud Gilbert, a Republican representative of Algonac, said the rationale behind it was to recognise that mothers have additional bills to pay.

"You're recognizing the fact that people have additional expenses, another person to take care of," he told told Mlive. "Money saved there could be contributed to doctor's bills and all kinds of things."

Gilbert said the move would speed up a tax exemption that parents only get when a child is born.

However, tax exemptions for children and families have been cut in the state, to the extent that another 9,000 children have been forced into poverty as a result, according to policy groups.

Progress Michigan, a progressive watchdog, said it was a "sneaky way to pass personhood legislation."

"It's clear Lansing Republicans have the wrong priorities by wasting time on these extreme bills," said Zack Pohl, executive director of Progress Michigan.

"This is really a backdoor way of passing extreme personhood legislation, which has been rejected by voters in states across the country. Even worse, this would create a special new tax credit for unborn fetuses, after Lansing Republicans eliminated the tax credit for living, breathing children last year. It's time for our elected leaders to get their priorities straight."

Last year, the state legislature and governor eliminated a child tax credit deduction which went to 2.35 million children in the state, worth $57m, according to the Michigan League for Public Policy. In addition, changes to the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which dropped from 20% to 6% for families in 2011, drove 9,000 children in the state into poverty, the MLPP told the Guardian. A spokeswoman for the group said she did not want to comment on the foetus tax credit.

Meghan Groen, the director of government relations at Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan, said the bill was absurd and said that it set a dangerous precedent. She said: "We don't have child tax credit here in Michigan, that has been eliminated."

She said of the foetal tax credit bill: "The way they have drafted it, it is not for pre-natal care, but is for the fetus. To focus on the fetus above all else is dangerous. There are a lot of women here who are looking to provide for their children right now and their needs are not being met."

Analysis by the non-partisan House Fiscal Agency estimates the state would lose between $5m and $10m a year in tax revenue through the change.

Groen said that state Republicans were ignoring the message from voters on election night, when five local anti-abortion candidates were replaced by five pro-choice candidates backed by Planned Parenthood. Among them was the main backer of the abortion bill, HB 5711, Deb Seanessay, who lost her seat to Theresa Abed.

"After the election, there was a clear message sent saying we do not want legislators interfering in women's health decisions" said Groen. "We are looking to solving the problems of the economy and jobs."