Within the next week, House Republicans are planning a hearing in an attempt to ban abortions after six weeks — long before the average woman even suspects she is pregnant.

Rather than funnel money into comprehensive sex education programs, which have been proven to lower pregnancy rates — and therefore decrease abortions — legislators instead have spent thousands of taxpayer dollars fighting for abortion bans. So far, they haven’t succeeded in outlawing the procedure, but they are doing their best to chip away at the foundation so the house slowly starts to crumble:

Like its counterparts in state legislatures, [Rep. Steve] King’s fetal heartbeat bill appears doomed, as it would violate protections granted to women seeking abortions in Roe v. Wade. But King feels certain that by the time appeals related to the bill reach the country’s highest court, President Donald Trump will have had an opportunity to appoint a new Supreme Court justice keen on overturning the landmark decision, giving Republicans an opening to make abortion illegal. “By the time we march this thing down to the Supreme Court, the faces on the bench will be different—we just don’t know how much different, but I’m optimistic,” said King. His confidence in such a blatantly unconstitutional bill represents an emboldening of Republicans under Trump, whose administration has made its intention to dismantle women’s reproductive rights quite clear.

The tone deaf-ness of this administration is appalling. We know what it takes to lower abortion rates — namely, addressing the issue of poverty so more women can afford birth control to avoid unplanned getting pregnant in the first place, as well as prenatal care should they decide to keep their pregnancies. Making childcare more affordable and requiring businesses to offer paid maternity leave would make a difference, too.

But acknowledging facts has never been the Trump administration’s strong suit.

