The week after our state’s Medicaid program began covering all abortions, I remember sitting with a patient—I’ll call her Annie—and explaining to her that she would not have to pay anything to get the care she needed.

I had to repeat myself three times before she understood. It was almost as if Annie couldn’t fathom that abortion was now going to be treated the same as the rest of her health care needs. Annie was a young mom, and she didn’t make a lot of money: insurance coverage made a very big difference for her.

Once she finally grasped what I was saying, I could see her hold back tears of relief.