Maryland legislators advance bill to put birth control vending machines in public schools

Lawmakers in Maryland have advanced a bill that would allow public schools to add vending machines that contain condoms and other forms of birth control. It passed in the House on Friday 89-41.

House Bill 380, Prohibition on Sale of Contraceptives and Contraceptive Devices by Vending Machine in School – Repeal, would remove criminal penalties, including a $1,000 fine, “related to the sale of certain contraceptives and contraceptive devices by means of a vending machine or other automatic device at certain schools; and generally relating to the sale of contraceptives and contraceptive devices in school.” If signed into law it would take effect on October 1, 2025, and would include “kindergarten, nursery school, or elementary or secondary school.”

Supporters of the bill argue that repealing the law will modernize the state’s reproductive health policies and improve teenage access to contraception. Opponents, however, say that birth control vending machines will remove parental oversight and prioritize easy contraception access without education.

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Delegate Kathy Szeliga opposes the bill saying that the lawmakers behind it have “lost their minds.”

“MD lawmakers have officially lost their minds. Condom vending machines in SCHOOLS—from preschools to high schools? Yes, you read that right,” Szeliga said after the bill passed in the House. “Thanks to HB 380, the ‘Condoms for Kiddies’ bill, your child’s school could soon be a one-stop shop for birth control. What’s next, hormone therapy at recess? This is what happens when the people in charge put ideology over common sense.”

The bill does not require schools to sell condoms or other forms of birth control in vending machines and individual school systems would be in charge of making any such decisions.

The Maryland House has a Democrat majority and also recently passed House Bill 161, which prohibits parents from opting their children out of classes that will teach so-called gender identity and sexual orientation to children.

The “Condoms for Kiddos” bill will now move to the Maryland Senate.