Plan B, also referred to as the “morning after pill”, will be available from a vending machine at Shippensburg University, which is located in central Pennsylvania. The emergency contraceptive will be sold along with condoms, decongestants and pregnancy tests.
The vending machine will be housed at the Etter Health Center, in a private room at the health center, accessible only to university students. Plan B is currently available to anyone 17 or older. The school checked their records, and all current students are that age or older. The student government requested the availability of the contraceptive, which will be sold for $25.
Taking Plan B within 72 hours of rape, condom failure or forgetting to use regular contraception can cut the chances of pregnancy by up to 89%. It works best when taken within 24 hours.
Some religious conservatives consider the drug tantamount to an abortion drug. The drug is not covered or subsidized by Shippensburg University. The price is set by the school’s cost to the pharmaceutical company and is less than the price at off-campus pharmacies.
Is this a measure a service to the student population, or will it make unprotected sex easier to justify? Vending machines aren’t just for snacks anymore.
