Coming Soon To Your Vending Machines: PLAN B

Now, when you go to the vending machine for your casual snacks in your universities, next to your bag of pretzels and bag of snickers candy, soon there will be the so- called "morning- after pill," Plan B.

Plan B is an over-the-counter emergency contraceptive pill to be taken up to 72 hours after unprotected sex. It can reduce the chance of pregnancy when taken as directed up to three days after unprotected sex, if your regular birth control method fails or you had sex without birth control.

"I think it is better to help people avoid pregnancy. It's good to have Plan B on campus and cheaper than going to a nearby pharmacy," said senior Shalom Agyei about the idea of having vending machines.

Instead of having to walk to your nearest pharmacy counter, you spend less time and have an easier accessible way of protecting yourself right on your campus. Those teenagers 17 and under are only allowed to obtain with a prescription.  

Shippensburg University located in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania has had these machines for about two years now, but its existence wasn't widely known until recently. It is amongst one of the first places to show its presence. The university uses the money made from sales to purchase more pills. Some 350 to 400 doses are sold each year.

The idea has drawn the attention of federal regulators and recently raised questions about how accessible emergency contraception should be.

Senior Sydney Brown brought up a good point by saying, "it would be a good idea to try, but it never will be enough to reduce the amount of pregnancies each year. It might encourage more people to have sex, because it access is closer and cheaper."

More parents and staff members believe that as much as the health center claims it will help, it can negatively have a bad influence too. But if the machine was just recently noticed after two years, it really must have not been as negative as they thought.