Birth Control Vending Machines In College — Great Idea Or Going Too Far?

While birth control has become more and more accessible, we never thought we’d see it like THIS! Plan-B, condoms, & more have become available in vending machines on certain college campuses, but is this brilliant or ridiculous?

The future is here, people! Birth control is officially available at both Stanford University and the University of California, Davis WITHOUT taking a trip to the health center. In fact, a machine known for quenching thirst and satisfying late-night hunger is now helping students with another, more serious, need. Yep, vending machines are now carrying birth control on these college campuses — and students and faculty alike are already big fans. “It’s not typical, but I think it’s very useful nonetheless, and that’s what vending machines are for,” UC Davis student Jose Galindo said, according to King 5 News.

Senior Parteek Singh came up with the idea for UC Davis’ campus after a friend was unable to buy the morning-after pill in a timely manner, since the health and wellness center is only open during business hours and NOT on the weekends. “When a contraceptive method is missed or fails, this provides an option to reduce the risk of pregnancy from that,” said Cindy Schorzman from UC Davis Student Health said. The machine offers the morning after pill, condoms, and pregnancy tests, and is located inside the university’s activities and recreation center. For $30, the morning-after pill is yours. “It’s just a machine. It’s not gonna give you any look or anything,” said Parteek.

Another school to recently get in on this birth control trend is Stanford University. Stanford’s machine also dispenses emergency contraceptives, including a generic brand of Plan-B. It’s located outside an “all-gender restroom” in the student center. Stanford subsidizes the cost of items from the machine, charging $25.00 for a dose of My Way, $3.99 for three “external condoms,” $9.99 for three “internal condoms,” and $4.49 for 10 Advil, according to The Stanford Daily.

Even more convenient, the machine accepts credit cards, and is located adjacent to another vending machine that dispenses food, so students can have something to take with their contraceptives. Rachel Samuels, a former student who has since graduated, is the one behind bringing the machine to Stanford. She came up with the idea in early 2015, after her brother helped install a similar dispensary at Pomona College.

“It’s a right, and our rights should not be limited to business hours,” Rachel told The Stanford Daily. “In the end, Stanford administrators did step up and do it, and I’m very grateful for that. It’s nice to just keep in mind that they really should be caring about students, and this was a time when they did.”

Tell us, HollywoodLifers — what do YOU think about selling birth control in vending machines on college campuses? Is it brilliant or crazy?