According to NBC Boston, a group of Boston University students has brought a vending machine to campus that sells Plan B at a reduced price for students. The machine may be found in the Student Union Building.
Plan B, sometimes referred to as the morning-after pill, is a kind of emergency contraception that may prevent pregnancy after unprotected intercourse or in situations when another method of birth control may have failed.
According to NBC Boston, the vending machine can be found in the basement of the student union on the campus of Boston University. This machine is one of the first of its type to be installed anywhere in the nation. According to BU Today, the daily news site of Boston University, the vending machine does not dispense food but rather sells a generic form of Plan B (levonorgestrel) for the price of $7.25 and takes all major credit cards as payment.
Students for Reproductive Freedom, an organization that is linked with Planned Parenthood and was the driving force behind the installation of the machine, told NBC Boston that they were motivated to install it after seeing a vending machine that was quite similar to it at Brandeis University.
According to BU Today, students also have access to emergency contraception via the university's student health services. These services are the ones that provide financial sponsorship for Students for Reproductive Freedom and order the contraception for the machine.
“All we were looking for was something that didn't cost a lot of money and was simple to get there. It is not necessary for you to use the train to go across town. You don't need to go to the hospital or contact a doctor. According to Charlotte Beatty, a former co-president of the organization, who spoke with NBC Boston, “It is right there, and you can receive it as quickly as you need it.” Since March, the vending machine has sold more than one thousand tablets for emergency contraception.
Plan B and its generic equivalents are both available without an age limit when bought over the counter at the vast majority of pharmacies and when obtained online from the largest retailers. According to Planned Parenthood, the cost of generic alternatives to Plan B may vary anywhere from $11 to $45 while the standard price of Plan B is between $40 and $50.
Since the Supreme Court decided to overrule Roe v. Wade, the seminal case that established the constitutional right to abortion, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of people looking for the pills. Experts have previously told TODAY that the decision made by the Supreme Court in the Roe v. Wade case might pave the way for restricted access to contraception. Although the Roe ruling does not directly involve emergency contraception, it could pave the path for reduced access to contraception. In point of fact, Justice Clarence Thomas said in his concurring opinion in the Roe v. Wade decision that the Supreme Court “should review” a number of judgments, one of which was the one that established the right to contraception.
Since the Roe v. Wade decision was reversed, several pharmacies, including CVS and Rite Aid, have restricted customers' ability to buy morning-after medicines. These retailers justify their actions by stating a desire “to assure fair access.” As a result of the surge in demand, Amazon has temporarily limited the amount of Plan B that customers may buy via their website to three units each week.
Molly Baker, a previous co-president of the organization, recently gave an interview to NBC Boston in which she said that the decision to overturn Roe had made them even more happy to provide this service to members of their community.
According to NBC Boston, the state of Massachusetts allows abortions up to the 24th week of a pregnancy. After that point, an abortion may be performed if a physician determines that the baby “is incompatible with sustained life outside the uterus.”
Even though it was just installed in March, the vending machine has been getting a lot of attention on social media as of late. Rebecca Hart Holder, executive director of the Boston-based charity Reproductive Equity Now, which recently celebrated the student group at a gala, told NBC Boston: “It's going viral because people are terrified, and this is a solution.” Reproductive Equity Now honored the student group.
Plan B, which contains a high dose (1.5mg) of progestin, a synthetic form of the hormone progesterone, which helps regulate the menstrual cycle, works by inhibiting or delaying ovulation. It can be taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex, but it is more effective the sooner you take it, as experts have previously told TODAY. Plan B contains a high dose (1.5mg) of the synthetic form of the hormone progesterone. According to prior statements made by medical professionals to TODAY, the usage of Plan B does not result in an abortion and has no influence on a pregnancy that is already present.
In a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States, it was found that women between the ages of 20 and 24 had a higher rate than any other age group of having used emergency contraception, with around one in four having done so (23 percent).
According to NBC Boston, the students who were responsible for the machine aim to put other machines throughout campus and maybe supply them with various sorts of medicine. A reference guide has also been prepared by the organization to assist students at other educational institutions who want to bring a Plan B vending machine onto their own campuses.
