For students at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania, getting the morning-after pill is as easy as getting a soda. Is such availability of emergency contraception a valuable student service — or a dangerous new trend?
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 8, 2012 —
Yes, you read that right. At Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania, vending machines aren’t just for snacks and soft drinks. There’s also one for condoms, decongestants, pregnancy tests, and — perhaps most notably — the Plan B One Step contraceptive, also known as the “morning-after pill.”
The pill, which can prevent pregnancy if taken within a few days of unprotected sex, is available nationally without a prescription to anyone over 17 but is typically kept behind pharmacy counters at drugstores (per a recent ruling by the Obama administration), so people have to request it in order to buy it. Students at Shippensburg, however, can get it simply by sliding $25 into a machine at their health center, an innovative if controversial idea that has drawn the attention of both federal authorities and health experts.
One such expert is Alexandra Stern, a professor of the history of medicine at the University of Michigan, who told the Associated Press that while she doesn’t question a woman’s right to have access to Plan B, she does wonder whether it should be so readily available. “Perhaps it is personalized medicine taken too far,” she said of the machine, which has already been around for two years. “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.”
Among those pitfalls is the fact that young people can purchase the drug without first discussing the potential risks with a professional. In general, the morning-after pill is considered safe for use, with few (if any) side effects, but in some women, it may cause nausea, vomiting, headaches, or dizziness. Purchasers also should be aware that their next period may be irregular — for example, lighter and earlier, or heavier and later.
Then, of course, there’s the question of whether it’s even legal
University officials, for their part, insist they’ve taken necessary measures to ensure that the pill is used safely and legally. For one thing, they said in a statement, “no one can walk in off the street and go into the health center.” Students — all of whom are at least 17, according to school records — can only access the machine, which is in a private room, after first checking in at a lobby desk with the appropriate identification. Second, though students are not required
“The university is not encouraging anyone to be sexually active,” said Roger L. Serr, vice president of student affairs at Shippensburg. “That is a decision each student makes on his or her own…. Reproductive services are a personal decision to be made by every man and woman. As such, the university is providing students with a medication that they can obtain legally elsewhere as part of their ability to make their own choices.”
Most at the school appreciate the autonomy, said Matthew Kanzler, a senior. In fact, the machine came about as the result of a health survey from several years ago in which 85 percent of respondents supported making Plan B available on campus. “It’s a way for students to get the help or care they need,” Kanzler explained — help or care they may not otherwise seek out because of inconvenience or embarrassment.
“The machine is really used as much for privacy as anything else, if a person wants to come in,” Serr told CBS
Do you think a Plan B vending machine is a good idea? Or should students only be able to purchase the pill from a pharmacy? Take our poll!
Thursday, September 17, 2020