By MORGAN YOUNG
ShipNewsNow.com

Some students at Shippensburg University say that they don’t understand why news of a campus vending machine that dispenses the emergency contraceptive Plan B is getting national attention.

“I don’t think it’s a really big deal,” said Taylor McCoy, a freshman at the university. “I know people think it gives Shippensburg (University) a bad name.”

The machine is in a room inside the university’s health center and also holds condoms, cough drops, decongestant and pregnancy tests. The fact that it dispenses emergency contraception for $25 was first published Friday by Public Opinion and has been covered by The Associated Press and CNN International.

“Its not like you can go into the (student union) and use your (meal plan) to buy it,” said Heather Sherman, a senior at SU.

Between 350 and 400 doses of the pill are dispensed every year, according to Dr. Roger Serr, vice president for student affairs. As of last fall, SU had about 3,718 female students.

The machine appeared on the campus about two years ago, shortly after a student survey found that 85 percent of students supported the idea. So far, the machine is the only reported one of its kind across the country.

“We value student input on matters that directly pertain to their health and safety, so these results were an important part of the decision-making process,” Serr said in a statement released Tuesday. “We are not the first one to make Plan B available, so this is not unique to us or to public higher education. This decision was also made in consultation with our medical staff.”

Alyssa Degregorio, a freshman at SU, said she was aware of the existence of the machine before the story reached the national stage.

“There’s a sign in our dorm that says it’s located in the (health center) and what it has in it,” she said.

The Associated Press reported Tuesday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is contacting state authorities and the university to gather facts about the machine, amid concerns that the drug could have possibly been used by someone younger than 17 years old, the legal age required for sale.

The drug does not require a prescription to purchase, but it is kept behind the pharmacy counter by law.
Federal law allows the contraceptive to be sold without a prescription to individuals 17 or older. The AP reported Tuesday that a university spokesman checked school records, finding that all students enrolled at the university are at least 17 or older.

The machine is not subsidized with student health fees. The approximate $10,000 a year made from the sale of the pill is used to buy more product.

Degregorio said that she likes the idea of the drug being accessible to students with the addition of sale precautions, such as an identification requirement.

“Maybe (students) could swipe their ID(s) to get it,” she said.

The vending machine is accessible to students after they have checked in with a front desk and have been given access to a back room where the machine is located.

“To not only allow the sale of an abortion pill on campus to students but to do so publicly is a telling reflection of Shippensburg University’s administration’s desire to place their perceived public-correctness over the safety and well-being of their female students by offering the abortion drug without a prescription,” said Kristan Hawkins, executive director of Students for Life of America, one of the nation’s most active pro-life organizations, in a statement.

Serr said in a statement that it’s not the university’s intention to promote sexual activity among students.

“The university is not encouraging anyone to be sexually active. That is a decision each student makes on his or her own,” he said. “The university does strongly encourage all students to make wise and appropriate decisions in all aspects of their lives.”

Dana Easton, an SU senior, said the ultimate message — giving students a choice about their sexual health — is what the focus should be.

“The college is empowering (student) choice, their right,” she said. “They’re allowing their students to make the right choice.”
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Morgan Young can be reached at myoung@shipnewsnow.com and 262-4753, or follow her on Twitter @ShipNewsGirl.

A timeline of Plan B history in the United States:

1999: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves the use of prescribed progestin-only Plan B.

2006: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announces the approval of the pill as an over-the-counter option for women 18 and older. It’s also made available for individuals who were 17 with a prescription.

2009: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration concedes to a judge’s order, allowing the sale of the pill to 17 year olds without the need for a prescription

December 2011: The Department of Health and Human Services overrules the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s decision that would make the pill available for sale without any restrictions and allow it to be put on store shelves, instead of sold behind a counter.

Basic information about Plan B:

Plan B is emergency contraception that comes in the form of two levonorgestrel pills that are taken orally after another regular birth control method fails or after unprotected sex. Levonorgestrel is a synthetic hormone used in birth control pills.

Plan B can reduce the chances of a woman becoming pregnant when taken as directed on the medication’s packaging.

If taken as directed, side effects can include nausea, stomach pain, headache, dizziness, or breast tenderness, similar to the side effects of regular birth control pills.

Source: US Food and Drug Administration