Honoring Women’s History Month Through Inclusive Care

Women’s History Month, observed in March, is an opportunity to honor the trailblazers who fought for bodily autonomy, medical equity, and the right to high-quality healthcare. 

Women’s History Month: A Legacy of Health Access

Women’s history includes victories you can name — voting rights, workplace protections, expanded educational access — and thousands of quieter wins rarely cited. Community clinics, public health nurses, patient advocates, and local organizers helped build pathways to care when the system refused to make room.

That legacy matters right now. Cost remains a barrier to care for many people. In a 2024 Kaiser Family Foundation survey, 5% of reproductive-age women said they stopped using contraception in the past year because they could not afford it. The number rose to 20% among uninsured women.

Inclusive Reproductive Care Supports Everyone at Every Age

Reproductive health does not end after high school, a first pregnancy, or a certain birthday. People need care across decades, and they need clinicians who treat them like adults with real lives.

Inclusive nonprofit care, such as that offered by MyAlly Health, often covers services such as:

  • Birth control counseling and contraception.
  • Pregnancy testing and options counseling.
  • STI testing and treatment.
  • HIV prevention services, including PrEP.
  • Breast and cervical cancer screenings and referrals.
  • Men’s sexual and reproductive health services, including STI care and fertility conversations.
  • Care navigation, insurance enrollment help, and sliding-scale support.

Many clinics also connect patients to a broader safety net. The Title X family planning program — the only US federal program dedicated solely to family planning and related preventive health services — served nearly 2.8 million clients in 2023, according to the Office of Population Affairs.

Why Nonprofit Clinics Matter: The Data Behind the Need

Numbers never tell the whole story, but they do show the scale of what clinics face and why access cannot depend on someone’s ZIP code or paycheck.

  • STI Prevention and Treatment Remain Urgent

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reporting shows more than 2.2 million cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis in 2024, even with declines compared with 2023. The CDC also flagged sharp long-term increases, including a nearly 700% rise in congenital syphilis compared with a decade ago.

Clinics that offer affordable testing, treatment, and follow-up protect individual patients and public health.

  • Maternal Health Gaps Remain Wide

Maternal mortality in the United States shows stark disparities. CDC data for 2023 reported a maternal mortality rate of 50.3 deaths per 100,000 live births for Black women, compared with 14.5 for white women, 12.4 for Hispanic women, and 10.7 for Asian women.

Women’s History Month asks communities to address those gaps honestly and support the organizations working to close them.

What Regardless of Income or Age Looks Like in Real Life

A mission statement matters most when it turns into ordinary moments that feel safe for patients.

Inclusive care can look like:

  • Transparent pricing and sliding-scale options so people don’t have to guess their bill before they walk in.
  • Confidential visits for teens and young adults who fear stigma, family conflict, or gossip.
  • Respectful, nonjudgmental care for older adults who still deserve sexual health support and straight answers.
  • Services for men that go beyond a pamphlet in a waiting room — real appointments, real screening, and real follow-up.
  • Language access and culturally responsive care so patients can explain their symptoms and concerns in their own words.

Clinics also tend to excel at something patients crave: plain talk. People want clear explanations, not a lecture and a rushed exit.

MyAlly Health Honors Women’s History Month With Action

Women’s History Month honors people who refused to accept “good enough” when health and dignity stood on the line. That legacy lives on in nonprofit clinics that open the doors to everyone — the uninsured patient, the teenager with questions, the older adult who still wants care, and the man who needs testing and honest guidance.

Inclusive reproductive care does more than treat symptoms. It builds stability, strengthens families, and protects communities — one appointment at a time.

Women’s History Month encourages us to reflect and act. Schedule an appointment today to ensure your health and empower your well-being.

MyAlly Health offers confidential reproductive health services, physical and mental health screenings, education, counseling, advocacy, and comprehensive healthcare services. Our healthcare providers proudly serve women and men of all ages in the Grand Forks, North Dakota, area, regardless of income.

Whether you want to learn more about what we do or support our mission, we’re here to help you take charge of your health.