COMMENTARY | According to the Associated Press, all students at Shippensburg University need to do to get Plan B emergency contraception is insert $25 into the slot and wait for the drug to drop out of the vending machine where it is sold alongside condoms, decongestants and pregnancy tests. I can't decide if that's a good idea or not.
In one way, it's a great idea. It is affordable and easy access to items students might need but would be afraid to ask for at the pharmacy in the small town where the public university is located. The students, all older than 17 according to school records, are of age to purchase the emergency contraception and no one other than students and faculty have access to the vending machine. What is the problem? There isn't one.
Unless someone is, as the Associated Press reports, a rape victim who gets the emergency contraception in lieu of a full exam and the other assistance that could be had by seeking the help of a health professional. Then there could be a problem. There could also be a problem if someone has an adverse reaction to the medicine that she purchased but told no one about. There could be problems with misuse or overuse. With the concept some people have about medicine: If one pill works well, six will work even better.
The Food and Drug Administration potentially has a problem with emergency contraception via vending machine. But I'm more concerned about the safety of the students. I like the way the machine is set up -- in the student health center, where students are required to sign in rather than merely helping themselves.
I hope someone with health care experience is around to answer questions should a purchaser have them. Likely, the vending machine does more good than harm. But then again, I'm not from the FDA. The power to approve it isn't up to people like me.
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