ELIA: "It's a burden for somebody my age to have to think about how to afford even just the co-pay of twenty dollars a month for birth control. I have a good job, but twenty dollars a month every single month ends up being quite a bit over the course of a year."
So Elia says she has stopped using the Pill and started using condoms. The cost is lower, but experts say the risk of an accidental pregnancy is higher.
David Downing is a women's health doctor at Washington Hospital Center. He says Elia's story is common.
DAVID DOWNING: "Some patients do make decisions based on their pocketbooks. And sometimes that decision doesn't necessarily go along with what the best medical recommendation is."
Dr. Downing says not having to pay for contraception would help about eighty percent of his patients. He says women would have more control over their reproductive health and there would be fewer unplanned pregnancies.
BOB DOUGHTY: But opponents say the government does not have a right to tell employers what health services they must provide to their workers. Most Americans buy health insurance through their jobs and share the cost with their employers.
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In March, opponents held protests in a number of cities. A fourteen-year-old girl named Veronica took part in a demonstration outside the Health and Human Services building in Washington.
Kim Varzi
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2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25