CBS and the AP are reporting that the student health center at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania has the morning-after pill available to students and university staff via vending machine.  The machine dispenses the Plan B One Step emergency contraceptive.  It also dispenses condoms, decongestants, and pregnancy tests.  The pill costs $25.

The morning-after pill has been available at Shippensburg, via the vending machine, for about 2 years.  However, its existence wasn't widely known until recently.  Yesterday, the FDA said it is contacting state officials and the university to gather facts.  The issue has raised questions about how accessible emergency contraception should be.  According to the linked article, there appears to be no other vending machine in the US that dispenses the morning-after pill.

Under federal law, the pill is available without a prescription to anyone aged 17 or older.  Typically, though, the pill is kept behind the pharmacy counter.  The university has reviewed its enrollment records and determined that all current students are, indeed, 17 or older.

Moreover, the vending machine in the student health center is only accessible to students and university employees.  According to university officials, "no one can walk in off the street and go into the health center."  Students and university employees must check in at a lobby desk before being allowed in.

Consumers have long been able to pop some change into a vending machine for over-the-counter products such as aspirin, ibuprofen, antacids, and the like.  But some experts see a worrisome trend in making meds like Plan B available via vending machine. 

The article notes that surveyed students at Shippensburg have supported the vending machine notion for some years and that student government has likewise endorsed the vending machine deal for some years.

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