A month after distribution of Plan B began, the morning-after pill produced by Barr Pharmaceuticals is now available at pharmacies nationwide.

    Although some independent pharmacies refuse to carry Plan B because of moral objections or perceived lack of demand, the pill is widely available.

    Major pharmacy chains such as CVS Corp., Rite-Aid Corp. and Walgreen Co. not only offer the pill throughout their networks, but also pledge to ensure that customers can buy Plan B onsite even if a given employee declines to provide service for reasons of conscience.

    Jackie Payne, government relations director for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said some pharmacy chains were less explicit in their commitments, but overall she was pleased by the industry's reception.

    "It's been a dramatic change in terms of access, of commitment to stock the pills and ensure that women receive service in the store without delay," she said.

    Plan B was the focus of bitter debate for years before the Food and Drug Administration declared in August that customers 18 and older can purchase it in pharmacies without a prescription.

    Plan B is a high dose of a drug found in many regular birth-control pills. It can reduce the risk of pregnancy by up to 89 percent if taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex. Girls 17 and younger still need a prescription to buy Plan B, though an older person -- male or female -- could buy it over the counter on a teenage girl¡¯s behalf.

    Supporters of Plan B had sought over-the-counter approval on the premise that wider availability would reduce the number of unplanned pregnancies and abortions.

    Critics of the drug claim Plan B will encourage promiscuity and unsafe sex and warn that men might coerce their underage sexual partners into using it. Some critics also consider the pill tantamount to abortion, although it differs from the abortion pill RU-486 and has no effect on women who are already pregnant.

    The pill giveaway was denounced by some Planned Parenthood critics.

    "They're using this to drive customers to their clinics and drive up their profits," said Jim Sedlak, vice president of the American Life League.

    The cost of a standard two-pill pack varies. Kate Horle, a Planned Parenthood official in Colorado, said prices there range from 30 U.S. dollars at her organization's clinics to 61 dollars at some supermarket-based pharmacies.

    Dr. Joe DeCook of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists said he worries that sexually active women using Plan B will feel less need to see a physician, reducing the odds of early detection of sexually transmitted diseases.

    DeCook pronounced Plan B's over-the-counter status a "done deal" that would be hard to reverse, but some other opponents said they would carry on the fight. They said future studies may cast doubt on the pill's merits, and they spoke of pushing legislation on the state level to curtail access to it.

    "The battle is not over," said Wendy Wright, president of Concerned Women for America. "There are more things we can do and will be doing."

    (Agencies)