The fate of President Obama’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) now rests in the hands of the Supreme Court, which opened discussion about the law a couple weeks ago. The nation is split on the issue, and the competing ideologies are wildly throwing dirt at each other in Washington. Some say the government’s mandate that everyone has to buy health insurance or else they will be fined is unconstitutional. Every Congressional Republican and 34 Democrats voted against the bill that passed last March. Twenty-eight states have already formally protested by filing lawsuits to overturn the individual mandate. Some say it is necessary to the law because it will keep health care costs down.

But guess what? Congratulations! You as a college student — or just a young person in general — has a right to be in the discussion as well. In fact, you should probably be extra vocal against the idea that the law could be struck down if just one part is declared unconstitutional.

The health care bill is huge and contains many positive provisions. The touchy parts of the bill should not bring down the groundbreaking reform that could be the answer to our broken system.

For example, dependent young adults can be covered by their parents’ insurance plan until age 26, which is helpful when you consider the likelihood of finding a job with benefits right after graduation in a bad economy. In some states, young people are booted off at age 19.

Insurance companies also can’t discriminate against you simply because of a pre-existing condition. Thirteen million Americans have been denied insurance because of this reason.

Perhaps an individual mandate is crossing the line. Perhaps extending coverage to contraceptives does trample on religious beliefs. We can discuss those. But, if parts of the law are repealed when the court issues its ruling in June, we want some parts to stay. This isn’t a partisan issue. This is just common sense.

The above editorial is the consensus opinion of the Daily Kent Stater editorial board.