CHICAGO - Signs telling women about their right to buy contraceptives should be going up soon in pharmacies around the state.

A legislative oversight committee on Tuesday signed off on a rule proposed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich to make sure pharmacies comply with his executive order requiring them to fill emergency contraception prescriptions if they dispense birth control.

Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation spokeswoman Susan Hofer said the rule should be officially filed with the secretary of state by Sept. 1 so the signs can go up.

Besides outlining their right to receive contraceptives, the signs will tell women where to file a complaint with the state if their prescription is denied.

"Women will now be armed with the information they need to make sure that pharmacies are respecting their right to get the medication their doctors prescribe for them," Blagojevich said in a written statement.

Some pharmacists have said the order requiring them to dispense emergency contraception is unconstitutional, and they have sued in federal court to abolish it. A public-interest group founded by evangelist Pat Robertson filed the lawsuit in December on behalf of five pharmacists who were suspended by Deerfield-based Walgreen Co. for refusing to dispense the drugs on religious or moral grounds and two other pharmacists employed elsewhere.

The lawsuit said the pharmacists believe the so-called morning-after pill is little different from an abortion. A high dose of regular birth control, it can prevent fertilization or block a fertilized egg from attaching to the womb.

The lawsuit is pending, attorney Frank Manion of the American Center for Law and Justice said.

The rule requiring pharmacists to post signs about the prescribing of contraceptives went through the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules with no objections.

"I thought it was very insulting to the pharmacists, but there was no organized objection to the rule itself," said Peoria Republican Rep. David R. Leitch.

Planned Parenthood for the Chicago area issued a statement applauding the new rule.