“Being a woman is no longer a pre-existing condition.”

If you were glued to the floor debate on CSPAN like I was, you heard that talking point from Speaker Pelosi and other Democratic women.

Far too many Americans – both male and female, have decided not to change jobs because a pre-existing condition would leave them uninsurable by their new employer. This roadblock to individual advancement is now a thing of the past.

But this reform also reminded me of language in an abortion case decided by the Supreme Court.

“The ability of women to participate equally in the economic and social life of the Nation has been facilitated by their ability to control their reproductive lives,” wrote Justices O’Connor, Kennedy, and Souter in Planned Parenthood v. Casey.

Family planning and, to a lesser degree, abortion have enabled countless women to pursue their chosen role in both the workplace and the home. That opportunity will be expanded by health care reform.