Dozens of college campuses introduce Plan B-type vending machines

More than three dozen college campuses in 17 states have set up vending machines with Plan B and other brands of emergency contraception (EC), according to a new report. 

The data came from the American Society for Emergency Contraception (ASEC), which runs a campaign advocating for vending machines and offers to administer EC on campus. 

The campuses are spread across the country with — for example — three in New York, two in Indiana, and 10 in California. Axios reported on the data Monday and honed in on the University of Washington, which is one of at least three schools in the state with vending access. Washington’s legislature passed $200,000 in funding for vending machines while allowing institutions to apply for $10,000 grants for the machines as well.

ASEC reportedly said the number of campuses (37) was double what it was aware of in 2019 – an apparent increase driven by concerns about the Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization to overturn Roe v. Wade. The group’s executive director Kelly Cleland also claimed the group saw a fourfold increase in student groups reaching out about machines since the ruling.

Advocates reportedly see machines as a way to avoid the stigma of requesting doses at a pharmacy and ensure quick access for students who may not have a car to travel to one.

There are two kinds of EC, according to the group: Levonorgestrel EC, which includes Plan B One-Step®, Take Action®, and others) and are available without prescription on store shelves, and Ulipristal acetate EC (ella®) which is available only by prescription. Plan B has long raised concerns about unintentional abortions and its label has traditionally warned that the drug can prevent implantation of an embryo. But in December, the Food and Drug Administration announced it was changing the informational leaflets for Plan B to indicate that the drug doesn’t work after fertilization. 

“Plan B One-Step will not work if a person is already pregnant, meaning it will not affect an existing pregnancy,” the agency said. “Plan B One-Step prevents pregnancy by acting on ovulation, which occurs well before implantation. Evidence does not support that the drug affects implantation or maintenance of a pregnancy after implantation, therefore it does not terminate a pregnancy.”

As Live Action News previously noted, however, that assessment conflicts with the opinions of some experts:

Studies have shown that all forms of emergency contraception, including Plan B, can function as abortifacients. According to the Charlotte Lozier Institute’s assessment of the studies, “All point to Plan B’s having a predominantly post-fertilization (abortifacient) MOA [mechanisms of action] when it is given during a woman’s fertile period.”

The drug’s potential abortion-inducing properties and other side effects are what Students for Life of America (SFLA) has cited in its attempts to combat placement of these vending machines on campuses. SFLA has launched a petition protesting the vending machine at Miami University in Ohio, and spoken out against the University of Florida’s plans to install its own.

It’s unclear exactly how many doses of EC have been dispensed through vending machines on campus. But according to an NBC report earlier this year, Boston University’s machine dispensed more than 1,000 EC pills. The University of Washington (UW) also saw more than 1,000 doses of EC sold since October with an average of 130 boxes per month. 

Cost seems to vary but according to Axios, doses tend to run from $40 to $50. For UW, the cost is significantly lower at $12.70 per dose.

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