From junk food to emergency contraception, a vending machine at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania is now offering students the ‘morning after’ pill alongside condoms, decongestants and pregnancy tests.
The idea was sparked two years ago after a survey confirmed that 85% of students supported the idea. Although the vending machine is located within the privacy of the campus’s Etter Health Center, students only have access to it after they have checked in with the front desk and have been granted access to the “treatment area.”
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Plan B is an emergency contraception that can be taken by mouth within 72 hours of unprotected sex in order to reduce the risk of pregnancy. While it is available over the counter without a prescription, the product is only available to women over the age of 17. Peter Gigliotti, Executive Director for University Communications and Marketing, told CNN that all students currently attending Shippensburg are older than 17.
Vice President of Student Affairs Roger Serr told CNN affiliate WHP that “the machine is really used as much for privacy as anything else if a student wants to come in.”
According to Planned Parenthood, a dose of Plan B can cost anywhere between $10 and $70 dollars. However, WHP reports that students are paying $25 for one dose, equivalent to what the university pays for the pill. Roughly 300 to 450 doses are sold each year.
Although the vending machine is the only known of its kind, its existence was not widely known until recently when it drew “the attention of federal regulators and raised questions about how accessible emergency contraception should be,” Catholic Online reported.
The FDA’s sudden interest sparked in response to a violation Mandate issued by the Health and Human Services Department. The Mandate currently violates free exercise of religion and requires religious institutions and organizations to dispense emergency contraceptives.
While most vending machines and dispensaries alike offer aspirin, ibuprofen and other common over-the-counter medications, some professionals see the dangerous effects in making drugs like Plan B readily available within a vending machine.
Alexandra Stern, a professor of the history of medicine at the University of Michigan told Catholic Online, “Perhaps it is personalized medicine taken too far,” she said. “It’s part of the general trend that drugs are available for consumers without interface with a pharmacist or doctors. This trend has serious pitfalls.”
However, some students prefer this option if it means preserving their identity. “I think it’s great that the school is giving us this option,” junior Chelsea Wehking told Catholic Online. “I’ve heard some kids say they’d be too embarrassed” to go into town of Shippensburg with a permanent population about 6,000 for the pill called “Plan B.”
According to Planned Parenthood, taking Plan B within three days of rape, unprotected intercourse or condom failure allegedly cuts the risks of pregnancy by up to 89 percent. Manufacturers say it that the pill “works best” if taken within the first 24 hours.
Although this option can prove beneficial when taken during the first few days, Plan B can serve as an abortion inducing drug if embryonic life has already begun with the mother. In addition, some question whether the machine offers an option for the discussion of risk factors with a health care professional.
Carol Tobias, president of the Pro Life group National Right to Life, expressed her concerns to Catholic Online.
“It would be a much more productive use of funds if universities would partner with local pregnancy resource centers where students can get real help if they need it,” Tobias said.