Plan B rule sparks lawsuit from pharmacists

Pharmacists have sued Washington state over a new regulation that requires the sale of emergency contraception, also known as the "morning-after pill."

In a lawsuit filed in federal court, a pharmacy owner and two pharmacists say the rule that took effect Thursday violates their civil rights by forcing them into "choosing between their livelihoods and their deeply held religious and moral beliefs."

The state ruled earlier this year that druggists who believe emergency contraceptives are tantamount to abortion can't stand in the way of a patient's right to the drugs.

Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire, who brokered a compromise on the contraceptive rule and pressured the state Board of Pharmacy to adopt it, said she stands behind the regulation.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed Wednesday are pharmacists Rhonda Mesler and Margo Thelen, and Stormans Inc., the owners of Ralph's Thriftway in Olympia, a grocery store that includes a pharmacy.

Sold as Plan B, the emergency contraceptive can lower the risk of pregnancy by as much as 89 percent if taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex.

Some critics consider the pill related to abortion, although it is different from the abortion pill RU-486 and has no effect on women who already are pregnant.

The federal Food and Drug Administration made the morning-after pill available over the counter to adults last year. Washington state also allows the pill to be distributed without a prescription.