So, why are anti-choice lawmakers introducing these heartbeat bills despite a clear precedent? The answer lies in the new makeup of the Supreme Court, and the fact that anti-abortion advocates have been emboldened by the election of President Donald Trump, who has promised to overturn Roe v. Wade , the landmark 1973 decision that legalized abortion nationwide. According to Elizabeth Nash, senior state issues manager at the Guttmacher Institute, the aggressive rate at which these measures are being introduced might be unprecedented, but the reason behind them couldn’t be clearer. “These bans are very much at the center of Roe v. Wade ,” she previously told Refinery29. “The idea is to kick off a court case and ultimately is to get this before the U.S. Supreme Court, with the anticipation that the court is looking to undermine or overturn Roe v. Wade. Conservatives are very eager to get that ball rolling.”