While not a doctor, I work with women’s reproductive health on a regular basis. I am a doula and I support women throughout the childbearing year. I distinctly remember working with one client—a teen mother—who got pregnant unintentionally. The impacts that having this baby had on her and her low-income family were huge. But through her Medicaid insurance coverage and the Affordable Care Act, she was able to get an IUD following the birth of her child.

Access to long-acting reversible contraceptives is crucial for every woman. I can remember another client who was young and had recently graduated from a religious high school. As a result of abstinence-only education, she did not fully understand how birth control worked or what was needed for it to remain effective. She found out she was pregnant shortly after starting to date the father of the baby.

He was violent and she struggled between wanting her child to grow up with a father, and wanting something better for herself. The need for complete education about reproductive health is pressing in our nation. Girls deserve access to information and support systems throughout their reproductive lives.