Divisive political controversy continues to split D.C. and McLean High School in two as a Texas judge ruled that former president Obama’s Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional.

The Affordable Care Act (colloquially known as “Obamacare”) is an infamous Obama-era policy that expands healthcare coverage for Americans and regulates the healthcare industry, especially insurance companies. Like many of Obama’s most prominent policies, it is generally loved by the left and loathed by the right. 

“I really respected president Obama and I thought that the way he made healthcare a priority was important,” senior Wendy Shi said. “The ACA is something that I think this country needs to help everyday people.” 

The strike-down of the beloved liberal policy by federal judge Reed O’Connor was devastating to many McLean Democrats, but a welcome win for many Republicans across the country. “Repealing and replacing Obamacare” had been a staple of both the 2016 and 2018 elections for the GOP.

Their revelry discounts the estimated 52 million Americans who have pre-existing conditions whose insurance could be in jeopardy without Obamacare. 

“To me, it’s just ridiculous to leave so many people hanging like that just for political gain,” Shi said. 

Judge O’Connor ruled that the ACA was unconstitutional because of its individual mandate clause, which attempts to enforce that all Americans have health insurance. Though its main purpose, according to the Obama Administration, is to drive down costs for everyone, many Republicans took it as a breach of personal liberty. The lawsuit that led to O’Connor’s decision was prompted by a coalition of Republican-dominated states. 

With the future of healthcare in the United States hanging in the balance, there doesn’t seem to be many solutions offered up by politicians. The Republican alternative, the American Health Care Act of 2017, wasn’t even voted on in the Senate because majority leader Mitch McConnell felt he did not have the sufficient votes. 

“I feel like this whole situation is just unfair to the people who actually need what Obamacare provides,” Shi said.