Hormonal birth control, like the Pill or the Patch, can be an expensive precaution to take. Teenage girls and adult women around the country pay $160 to $600 per year for hormonal contraception. This is money that could be spent on schoolbooks or groceries.

Well, this financial burden for many girls and women will soon be a thing of the past. Starting August 2012, health insurance companies will be required by the Affordable Care Act to do away with co-pays for government-approved preventive-care measures for women.

That means that starting a year from now, hormonal birth control methods will be free each month, as long as you have health insurance. Other preventive-care services will be free as well: screening for the human papillomavirus (HPV) in women over 30 and counseling for HIV and STDs. The only limitation on this is that the contraception must be prescribed by a physician, which means that emergency contraception pills (also known as the “morning after pill”) that are sold over the counter will not qualify and neither will condoms. However, the new emergency contraception pill ella™ is still prescription-only, as are most oral contraceptives, which means they will be covered

This decision is controversial, because many religious groups say that birth control is against their beliefs. In response to these concerns, religious institutions are allowed to decide privately what their health insurance will cover.

Sexual health advocates are calling this new decision a victory for women, as it will now put hormonal contraception within the financial reach of more women than ever before. Planned Parenthood was so excited about the news that they danced—Bollywood style.

—Taylor McCabe, 19, Contributor

Coinciding almost perfectly with this year’s HIV Testing Day on June 27 is an interesting breakthrough in HIV research. Researchers recently found that treating HIV early—before the virus has damaged the immune system and while a person’s immune system is still healthy—can keep someone who is HIV positive healthier and help prevent transmitting the virus to an uninfected partner.

But to benefit from early treatment, you have to know if you have the virus. It is estimated that one in five people living with HIV are unaware that they are infected, which means that they can’t begin the treatment they need to stay healthy. So if you are sexually active, remember that it is crucial to get tested. And HIV Testing Day is a perfect day to do so.

Find a health center that does HIV testing near you.

—Taylor McCabe, 18, Contributor

The debate over defunding Planned Parenthood hasn’t cooled much in the month after my March blog post. Since then, House Republicans and Democrats have continued to struggle to resolve the dispute, and it was one of the major conflicts that almost led to a federal “shutdown” on April 8th, which would have left 800,000 federal employees and over a million troops without pay until the budget was resolved. In the end, the House passed the budget just hours before the shutdown deadline.

After narrowly avoiding a shutdown and the Senate voting down a new measure to deny federal funding to Planned Parenthood, it’s fair to say that we might all appreciate some lighter coverage on this issue. Among the many voices weighing in on the debate is at least one anchorman able to provide some humor: comedian Stephen Colbert. His funny take on the controversy, besides giving viewers a good laugh, offers more insight on the situation than many of the men and women on Capitol Hill. Jump to the 1:35 mark:

—Meg Gibbon, 19, Contributor

Birth control, cancer screenings, STD testing and, yes, abortion are vitally important health care services. Planned Parenthood makes sure millions of people—including many who are young and uninsured—receive these services. Planned Parenthood and other family planning clinics save lives and tax dollars in the long-term, and that should be the bottom line in any discussion over federal funding.

This is what makes the February 18th House of Representatives 240 to 185 vote to eliminate Planned Parenthood’s federal funding so shocking, heartbreaking and, ultimately, dangerous. The legislation didn’t pass the Senate, but budget negotiations are under way. If conservative members of Congress strip away funding, 63 percent of Planned Parenthood clinics may close, putting many young and low income people at risk across the country.

Many people take offense to Planned Parenthood’s abortion procedures, but overlook the fact that legislation already prevents government funds from being spent on abortion. Representatives claimed that any federal money lets Planned Parenthood take care of its other expenses, “freeing up” money for abortions. Such a hostile, shortsighted position fails to consider the other essential health care that Planned Parenthood provides. In fact, only three percent of Planned Parenthood’s services are abortions, which means that the overwhelming majority of their services and funding has nothing to do with abortion. But even so, lest we forget, abortion is legal in the U.S.: Planned Parenthood has as much a right to provide abortions with its own funding as it does to use federal funding to perform STD tests. Any religious or ethical objections to abortion should not—and absolutely must not—prevent providing support for vital services like cancer screening and STD testing.

Other representatives argue that Planned Parenthood is an expense we cannot afford. Can Americans truly deny a pregnant woman a cancer screening, one she may be unable to otherwise receive, with the excuse that this is a tough financial year? Following the vote in the House, Representative Barbara Lee called the decision and its motive a “war on women.” As far as I’m concerned, we’re facing nothing less.

—Meg Gibbon, 19, Contributor

We had something else to be thankful for besides family, friends and turkey this year. Just in time for Thanksgiving, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report showing that sex in the United States was noticeably in 2009. Ten percent fewer cases of gonorrhea were reported in 2009 than in 2008. And the rate of syphilis infections among women didn’t rise—something that hasn’t happened in five years.

These stats are of course great news, but I’d also like to think that they mean Americans are having safer sex in general. That could potentially mean we’ll see drops in other STDs and unplanned pregnancies for 2010. Maybe it’s just me (my university, after all, happened to rank first in Trojan’s 2010 Sexual Heath Report Card), but I feel like lower rates of STDs and unplanned pregnancy are New Year’s resolutions we might actually be able to keep.

—Meg Gibbon, 18, Contributor