Staff Editorial: Plan B needs supervision

For the past two years, students at Shippensburg University in central Pennsylvania have been able to purchase Plan B One Step Emergency contraception, commonly known as the "morning-after pill," from a vending machine located in their student health center.

The vending machine, which also dispenses condoms, decongestants and pregnancy tests, offers emergency contraception to any student for $25. But offering a drug that can have serious health side effects to students without any interaction with a medical professional is worse than short-sighted.

Plan B has side effects that could damage a woman's long term health. According to Plan B One Step's website, side effects include nausea, changes in a woman's menstruation, abdominal pain and headaches. But if the abdominal pain is severe, the website says this could mean a woman could have an ectopic pregnancy and should seek immediate medical attention.

An ectopic pregnancy is a life-threatening condition when an embryo falls into a fallopian tube rather than the uterus. According to the New York Times, the drug might cause an existing pregnancy to become ectopic three to five weeks after taking Plan B.

Usually, Plan B can only be bought from a licensed pharmacist. By placing the drug in a vending machine, Shippensburg took away users' chance for sound medical advice. Some women should not take the drug and a pharmacist can warn women of potential health risks — a vending machine cannot.  

College students are notorious for making rash decisions. A student in an emotionally stressful situation who thinks she may have to act quickly to avoid pregnancy is unlikely to think clearly about taking a powerful drug that promises to fix her problems. The short walk to the student health center at Shippensburg might not be enough time for a woman already worried about a life-altering pregnancy to make a smart choice about emergency contraception.

Shippensburg is supposed to watch out for their students. But instead, they went for convenience and discretion at the cost of risks to female students' health.

The Food and Drug Administration needs to step in and deem the vending machine illegal before similar means of conveying emergency contraception appear colleges campuses. Contraceptive medicine is a personal issue, but it shouldn't become so personal that it threatens women's health by eliminating their access to the necessary professional medical guidance.