Plan B: Contraception controversial vending machine item at Pa. college

Vending machines are often associated with soft drinks, junk food and even DVDs, but emergency contraception?

At Shippensburg University, Plan B, or “the morning after pill,” is available at a machine on campus. Taken to avoid pregnancy after unprotected sex, the pill reportedly costs the school $25 each, which is what they charge students, making no profit.

The school’s vice president of student affairs told WTAE Pittsburgh that 85 percent of the student body voted for the measure.

The pill can legally be sold over-the-counter to anyone over the age of 17 and between 350 and 400 doses are sold each year, he said.

While some will surely say that its on-campus availability will encourage or validate casual sex by easing its consequences, others will no doubt argue that it will lead to less unwanted pregnancies in which abortion or adoption need to be considered, preserving the health of the mother and reducing the burden on the medical system.

Kind of like the debate over the entire Plan B pill itself.