I have been very fortunate to be able to access what I needed. Because of the Affordable Care Act, I was able to stay on my parents’ insurance after I graduated from college, with the knowledge that so many vital reproductive health services would be covered.

I now have health care through the New York State Exchange. Since I am nearly 30 and have never had employment-based insurance, the existence of the ACA, and these provisions within it are the reason I know I am able to take care of my sexual and reproductive health. I was able to get a prescription for emergency contraception and fill it with my insurance for no copay because the law states that emergency contraception is necessary preventive care.

These are not niche, “specialty” services. Birth control, STI testing, cancer screening, abortion, and prenatal care impact every single member of our population. Everyone either will need these services at some point in their lives or knows intimately someone else who will. This is responsible, informed health care and must be treated as such by the law and by government funding structures.