To Expand Access to Emergency Contraception, Some Colleges Try Vending Machines
Some universities are installing vending machines where students can purchase emergency contraception, an effort to remove barriers to and anxiety surrounding products like Plan B.
Barnard College in New York said it would soon install a vending machine, months after Columbia University did. Stanford University, Dartmouth College and a few University of California campuses have added vending machines with Plan B or its generic alternative in recent years. Yale University students have pushed for one, and the student council at Miami University in Ohio voted last month in support of selling emergency contraception in campus markets as well.
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Many schools offer free or reduced-cost emergency contraception in their student health centers. But campus medical offices or pharmacies aren’t always open when the pills are most needed, including on weekends, students say. They also may prefer the anonymity of buying from the machine.
The vending machines haven’t prompted public objections on campuses, where they’re largely seen as an extension of existing services. The machines on most campuses, small boxes attached to a wall or dispensers resembling those for Snickers or soda, also sell other health products like cold medicine and condoms.
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https://www.wsj.com/articles/to-expand-access-to-emergency-contraception-some-colleges-try-vending-machines-11544961601 (paid subscription)