College Installs Emergency Contraceptive “Plan B” Vending Machine

The emergency contraceptive Levonorgestrel, also known as “Plan B”, has long been at the center of controversy within pro-choice/pro-life discussions. But now, at one Pennsylvania college, students can detour from their walk of shame to pick up a dose of the so-called “morning-after pill” from a vending machine on campus.

Shippensburg University installed the vending machine which sells doses of Plan B for an affordable $25 a pop. Before anyone gets bent out of shape over this seemingly controversial move, a few things need to be made clear. For one, no, you cannot purchase a morning-after pill in the student center or any of the dorms, and then move down the vending machine choir line to grab a bag of Chex Mix and a Mountain Dew: the vending machine is located in the health center. Second, the installation was born out of student demand, not institutional politics. Students desired the easy option for convenience and personal comfort:

“We had some conversations with them and they did a survey of the student body, and we got an 85 percent response rate that the students supported Plan B in the House Center,” said Dr. Roger Serr, VP of Student Affairs at Shippensburg University.

Also, the university does not make any profit from the selling of the drug:

“We were uncomfortable providing it for free because that would mean we were supporting Plan B with either state money or fee money,” Serr said.

Insofar as legality is concerned, the drug can be sold over-the-counter to anyone over the age of 17. The drug contains hormones that prevent ovulation and fertilization from happening. Think of it as birth control on crack.

What do you think of the college’s installation of the Plan B vending machine? Disgusting? Smart? Progressive? Safe? Let us know in the comments section below.