Reproductive rights activists protest against forced-birthers in front of the Supreme Court at a March of Life demonstration in January 2017.

Another day, and another couple of state legislatures decide to pass abortion cut-offs that supporters know won’t pass constitutional muster unless the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade. This time it was Utah and Arkansas lawmakers approving legislation to prohibit abortions after 18 weeks of pregnancy. That’s well below the accepted period for fetal viability, or the period in which a fetus can survive outside the uterus. Medical experts put this between 24 and 28 weeks of gestation. The 18-week cut-off thus puts the bills in direct conflict with the 46-year-old Roe ruling. But for some advocates, that’s the specific intent.

The Utah Senate passed HB136 Wednesday on a party-line vote of 23-6. Last month, the Utah House passed the bill with a few Democrats on board. Soon after Senate passage, both the Planned Parenthood Action Council of Utah and the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah promised the law would be headed for the courts if the governor signs it, as expected.

x A majority of Utah lawmakers clearly donÃ¢ÂÂt care that theyÃ¢ÂÂll be wasting millions of taxpayer dollars on a lawsuit the State is sure to lose. #utleg #utpol @utahsenate @acluutah @betterutah https://t.co/JnJ4LcYlsw — PPAC Utah (@ppacutah) March 14, 2019

Benjamin Wood reported that the Alliance for a Better Utah issued a statement saying the ban will mean taxpayers’ dollars will be “burned up in litigation” rather than provide health care and educational efforts to reduce abortions and miscarriages.

But litigation is exactly what at least some of the bill’s advocates desire: