CHICAGO - An Illinois appellate court Friday affirmed a lower court finding that the state cannot force pharmacies and pharmacists to sell emergency contraceptives - also known as "morning after" pills - if they have religious objections. 
 
 In 2005, former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich mandated that all pharmacists and pharmacies sell "Plan B," the brand name for a drug designed to prevent pregnancy following unprotected sex or a known or suspected contraceptive failure if taken within 72 hours. 
 
 Some anti-abortion advocates object to the drugs, which work by preventing the release of an egg, preventing fertilization or stopping a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterus. 
 
 College vending machine dispenses 'morning after' pill 
 
 In 2011, an Illinois judge entered an injunction against the rule, finding no evidence that the drugs had ever been denied on religious grounds, and that the law was not neutral since it was designed to target religious objectors. 
 
 The Illinois appellate court agreed that the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act protects pharmacists' decision not to dispense the contraceptives due to their beliefs. 
 
 Free birth control under health law begins 
 
 "This decision is a great victory for religious freedom," said Mark Rienzi, senior counsel for the Becket Fund, quoted in a statement about the decision. 
 
 President Obama's health care reform is drawing fire from Republicans, as provisions enacted today mandate all employers provide free contraception to their employees. NBC's Brian Mooar reports. 
 
 Earlier this year, a federal court in Washington struck down a similar state rule, according to the Becket Fund, a non-profit law firm. 
 
 The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, which had filed an amicus brief on behalf of the state, expressed dismay at the court's decision. 
 
 Long-term contraceptives, like IUDs, gaining popularity 
 
 "We are dismayed that the court expressly refused to consider the interests of women who are seeking lawful prescription medication and essentially held that the religious practice of individuals trumps women's health care," said ACLU spokesman Ed Yohnka. "We think the court could not be more wrong." 
 
 A spokesperson for Illinois Governor Pat Quinn was not immediately available for comment. 
 
 Read more health news on NBC's Vitals 
 
 More content from NBCNews.com: 
 
 Follow US News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook 
 
 Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions ||||| Appeals court: State can’t force pharmacists to sell ‘morning-after pill’ BY STEFANO ESPOSITO Staff Reporter sesposito@suntimes.com 
 
 Updated: 
 
 An Illinois appeals court this week sided with a lower court’s ruling that the state can’t force pharmacists with religious objections to sell emergency contraception — the so-called “morning-after pill.” 
 
 The Fourth District appeals court agreed with a judge in Sangamon County, who ruled that a state rule mandating all pharmacists in Illinois dispense the controversial contraception cannot be enforced against pharmacists who object to doing so for religious reasons without violating the state’s “Conscience Act.” 
 
 The appeals court found that a pharmacist “may not be discriminated against or punished civilly or criminally if they make a conscience-based decision not to comply” with the rule, according to the ruling filed Thursday. 
 
 Pharmacists Luke VanderBleek, a lifelong Roman Catholic, and Glenn Kosirog, a Christian since age 17, and the three drug stores they operate sued over an “emergency rule” Blagojevich imposed in 2005, which forced pharmacists in the state to dispense contraceptives, including the Plan B contraception pill, also known as the morning-after pill. VanderBleek and Kosirog objected to the rule on religious grounds. 
 
 Last year, a judge in Sangamon County Circuit Court ruled that Illinois pharmacists couldn’t be forced to dispense the controversial pill, a decision the state appealed. 
 
 “It is sad that the court expressly refused to consider the interest of women who are seeking lawful prescription for medication, essentially holding that religious practice trumps women’s health care,” said Ed Yohnka, a spokesman for the ACLU of Illinois, which filed a brief in support of the state. “The court could not be more wrong.”
– Illinois pharmacists who don't want to sell the "morning after" contraceptive pill on religious grounds now have the green light to pull it from their shelves. An Illinois appeals court ruled that the state can't force pharmacists to sell the pill, sold under the brand name Plan B, reports the Chicago Sun-Times. The legal fight has been winding through the courts ever since then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich ordered pharmacies to sell the emergency contraceptive in 2005. The decision follows a similar one in Washington state earlier this year, notes NBCNews.com.