Women in Pennsylvania who have been raped shouldn't have to hope they end up at a hospital that distributes emergency contraception. They shouldn't be blocked from getting an effective intervention for a medical emergency.
A legislative bill would require all hospitals in the commonwealth to provide victims of sexual assault with information about and access to the emergency contraception drug known as Plan B.
Currently, more than half of all hospitals in the commonwealth do not.
The House was supposed to act on HB 288 last week. Members could have distinguished themselves by going ahead with the vote after months of discussion and amending. Instead, Harrisburg lawmakers showed weak leadership by postponing the vote.
It now is scheduled for Oct. 22. On that day or sooner, legislators should pass this humane, practical measure.
Unfortunately, the need for it is never-ending. Every year in Pennsylvania, 15,000 women are sexually assaulted.
If emergency contraception is taken within 24 hours after the assault, there is a 95 percent chance that a pregnancy will not occur. A victim of rape - or incest - should be able to make the choice of how to react to a vicious crime against her.
Plan B is not new, and it's not abortion. It contains a higher dose of the hormone levonorgestrel than is found in birth control pills. That higher dose can prevent pregnancy, primarily by stopping the release of an egg from the ovary.
Emergency contraception is not aimed at ending a pregnancy, as some abortion opponents imply. There is zero peer-reviewed research showing that it affects a fertilized egg.
Still, State Rep. Daylin Leach (D., Montgomery) said changes were made in his bill to address the concerns of hospitals with religious affiliations that are uncomfortable with giving the emergency dose.
Hospitals could contract with a third-party to give the pill to a woman. They could administer a pregnancy test. If the test were positive, Plan B wouldn't work anyhow, so why bother to give it?
Those are extremely reasonable allowances that reflect an earnest attempt by the bill's supporters to make the legislation as fair as possible and to give a sound basis to any regulations crafted by the state Health Department.
What wouldn't be fair is if a proven medical response to a criminal assault was not available at all hospitals in Pennsylvania.