Time and again, when it’s introduced in a state legislature, the bill is touted as the most restrictive in the nation. It’s often referred to as a “heartbeat bill” and seeks to ban abortions at the time when a fetus’ heartbeat can be detected, which can be as early as six weeks into a pregnancy — before many women even know that they are pregnant.

On January 22, an Iowa judge struck down the state’s 2018 state heartbeat bill, declaring it unconstitutional.
That decision happened to come down on the 46th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the United States.

So what is going on? If the bills flatline over and over again, why do lawmakers keep revitalizing them?