When President Barack Obama spoke during his State of the Union address, he made something clear. The health care debate is over. The statement was that Republicans, and those who oppose the bill, would do better to focus on the fiscal actions that they were swept into office with the promise of upholding, and focus less on “refighting the battles of the last two years”. I couldn’t agree more.

Now before I go on, I offer a word of caution. I understand that I take the view of only half of Americans. I also understand that the other half of citizens feel that the bill enacts an indecent amount of input on how they live their lives.

But I can’t help but feel that in this case, the pros far outweigh the cons. With healthcare overhaul, something rare happened. People were provided with the knowledge that in the future, they won’t be forced to declare bankruptcy over medical bills that represent triple their incomes because they were either denied coverage  or left stranded in an insurance company’s unwillingness to provide full care.

And it’s more than that feeling of hope. It’s the genuine effect this will have on millions of people who were previously unable to address their general health because only the most serious of ailments was worth the bills and inevitable lack of resources that would result from a hospital visit.

This plan will give American people so much more than it could ever take away. Your insurance company will no longer be able to cancel your plan because you get sick or put a lifetime limit on your coverage.  You will receive free preventative care, meaning people who could only treat the effects of poor health now have the resources to prevent it in the first place. For the first time in history, this bill will make sure that your children cannot be denied for pre-existing conditions.

By supporting this bill, you are saying that you refuse to allow the national debt to take precedent over the opportunity to provide every citizen with healthcare. Every resident of this nation has a right, as well as a privilege, to have the opportunity and care provided to them from birth until death. I can see no better way to reiterate this than by ensuring that those rights are provided to their fullest extent. We deserve the right to healthcare, and because of this bill, that is now possible.