Morning-after-pill vending machines become popular on college campuses after the Roe incident
SEATTLE (AP) — Need a Plan B? Tap Credit Card and enter ‘B6’.
Since November last year, the University of Washington library has had a different kind of vending machine. The vending machines have become more prevalent on campuses across the country since the U.S. Supreme Court ended constitutional protections against abortion last year. Ibuprofen, pregnancy tests, and morning after pills are available.
With some states banning abortion and others enacting protections to expand access to contraception, the machine was designed by universities to make emergency contraception cheap, discreet, and widely available. It’s part of our commitment to campus.
According to the American Emergency Contraceptive Association, 39 colleges and universities in 17 states now have emergency contraceptive vending machines, and at least 20 more are considering installing them. In some states, such as the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma, abortion is largely outlawed.
Plan B and general form over-the-counter purchases are legal in all 50 states.
ASEC Executive Director Kelly Cleland said the 2022 ruling overturning Roe v. Wade “is putting people’s lives at risk, making pregnancy prevention all the more urgent.” “If you live in an abortion-free state and you don’t have an abortion nearby, the risk is much higher than it ever was.”
Washington state this year became the first U.S. state to put $200,000 into a $10,000 grant that colleges can earn next year through the application process to expand access to emergency contraception in automatic dispensers at public universities and colleges. became the state of
The University of Washington machine was installed after a student-led campaign. The company offers a box of generic Plan B for $12.60, about a quarter of the retail price of the big name brand, and has sold more than 640 units.
The drug is even cheaper than UW on some machines, around $7 per box. That’s because it’s priced just above wholesale costs compared to pharmacy retail prices, which can reach up to $50.
In Illinois and New York, legislators are drafting legislation that would require at least one vending machine selling emergency contraceptives on state university campuses.
In Connecticut, Yale University was forced to cancel a plan to install emergency contraceptive vending machines in 2019 after learning it violated state law.
But this year, states approved measures to allow Plan B and other over-the-counter drugs to be sold in vending machines on campus and elsewhere.
This machine cannot be installed in a K-12 school or exposed to the elements. It should also control temperature and humidity, and include plans for power outages and expired merchandise.
“It just makes access better and easier for people,” said Nicole Clarides, one of several Republicans who supported the bill at the Democratic-majority convention in Connecticut.・Rep. Detoria said: “As we all know, you may need Plan B in the middle of the night, in which case you won’t be able to access the pharmacy until morning.”
The morning after pill is approved for over-the-counter sale by the Food and Drug Administration, but many stores and pharmacies keep it behind counters or locks, requiring ID to purchase, and are unable to purchase it. has become disturbing.
“There is a stigma about getting these drugs,” says Zoe Amaris, a pharmacy student at the University of Washington and director of the UW Pharmacists Association for Reproductive Education and Sexual Health. “Having a vending machine is so convenient. No need to go to the pharmacy. No need to go through a healthcare provider.”
Plan B is more effective the sooner it is implemented, and access to vending machines can be especially important for rape victims when pharmacies are closed. The anonymity that machines provide may also be important to some assault victims.
“Vending machines remove a lot of those barriers,” says Cleland. “Students can get it at their own will when they need it.”
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Haig reported from Hartford, Connecticut.
https://fox40.com/news/national/ap-us-news/ap-morning-after-pill-vending-machines-gain-popularity-on-college-campuses-post-roe/ Morning-after-pill vending machines become popular on college campuses after the Roe incident