Rape victims shouldn't have to worry about where they seek treatment. As it stands now they do, because the emergency care they get can depend on which hospital they enter.

A measure pending in the state House would see to it that emergency contraception, commonly known as the morning-after pill, is available for a victim who wanted it, no matter what hospital she was in.

It would require hospitals to provide information about the drug and the treatment itself. The pill, taken in two doses, is available without a prescription for those 18 and older. The sooner it is taken, the more effective it is.

This medication is not RU-486, which causes abortions. Still, the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference opposes House Bill 288 because it believes there should be a conscience exception for Catholic hospitals, and Rep. Tom Tangretti, D-Hempfield, has offered an amendment to provide it.

His amendment, however, would defeat the purpose of the bill, which is needed particularly in rural areas, where choice of hospitals is limited.

The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape, as part of the American Civil Liberties Union Emergency Contraception Project, surveyed 173 hospitals in the state. As of March, 83 (48 percent) said they always offer to provide both doses to rape victims in their emergency departments. Another 51 hospitals said they sometimes give out the drug. Four offer neither the drug nor information about it. The remaining hospitals either provided no information for the survey or had policies that were unclear.

Catholic hospitals provide emergency contraception to victims in order to prevent ovulation or fertilization, but not if tests indicate that the woman is ovulating. That's because the church's belief on when life begins differs from that of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Rep. Daylin Leach, the Montgomery County Republican who sponsored the measure, says a higher standard of proof than ovulation should be required if a woman is to be denied emergency care that could change her life forever.

Eight states -- California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York and Washington -- already have laws requiring access to emergency contraception for rape victims. American Medical Association guidelines require it. And hospitals should follow standard procedures when treating rape victims, just as they do when treating victims of heart attacks or automobile accidents.

There is no Catholic, Muslim or Jewish way to fix a broken arm. The Legislature should not allow rape victims to be victimized a second time by those who put moral argument over conventional medicine.