RICHMOND -- On split votes, the House Courts of Justice Committee has endorsed a bill prohibiting colleges from distributing any "morning-after pill," as well as legislation requiring minors to obtain parental permission before getting such emergency contraception.

The panel amended both bills to define "morning-after pill," the term originally used. Now the bills target "hormonal medication or combination of medications, administered only after intercourse for the post-coital control of fertility."

"These pills are not being used just in emergency situations," said Victoria Cobb, a lobbyist for the Family Foundation of Virginia, a conservative activist group. "They're being used as regular contraception in reckless sexual behavior."

Lobbyists for the American Civil Liberties Union, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia and the Virginia League of Women Voters opposed the bills. They say the pills prevent unwanted pregnancies especially for women who have been victims of date rape and other sexual assaults. They also say the parental-notification bill encroaches on a minor's right to privacy.

Delegate Kathy J. Byron, R-Lynchburg, sponsored House Bill 1403, which says emergency contraception pills cannot be prescribed to minors without their parents' consent.

"My purpose was to make sure little girls -- minors -- are not receiving this medication without some type of parental involvement," Byron said.

The House Committee for Courts of Justice voted 13-9 for her bill.

On a 14-8 vote, the committee also approved House Bill 1414, sponsored by Delegate Robert G. Marshall, R-Manassas. It would prohibit any public institution of higher education in Virginia from making morning-after pills available to students.

"If you want the pill, buy it on your own," Marshall said. "Don't make the colleges be part of it."

Byron's bill initially included a ban against the distribution of morning-after pills at colleges and universities. But she amended the bill to focus on parental consent.

The House is expected to vote on Byron's and Marshall's bills early this week.