Most sexually active American women use birth control, but a vocal minority - mostly conservative Christians - has long argued that easy access to contraception increases the rates of abortion, teen pregnancy and divorce. Debates over access to birth control have heated up recently as a handful of pharmacists have begun refusing to fill prescriptions for birth control on ethical grounds, and the Bush administration has blocked easing access to emergency contraceptives - pills that prevent pregnancy when taken after intercourse. Meanwhile, in state legislatures, women's groups are pushing for laws requiring health insurance plans to cover birth control and hospitals to dispense emergency contraception to sexual assault victims. However, pharmacists and Catholic hospitals that morally object to birth control are also pressing state lawmakers to expand "conscience clause" exemptions that allow health providers to refuse to provide some legally required services if they have moral or religious objections.

Marcia Clemmitt is a veteran social-policy reporter who joined CQ Researcher after serving as editor in chief of Medicine and Health, a Washington-based industry newsletter, and staff writer for The Scientist. She has also been a high school math and physics teacher. She holds a bachelor's degree in arts and sciences from St. Johns College, Annapolis, and a masters degree in English from Georgetown University.