Posted on 02/08/2012 11:35:33 AM PST by massmike
Students at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania can get the "morning-after" pill by sliding $25 into a vending machine, an idea that has drawn the attention of federal regulators and raised questions about how accessible emergency contraception should be.
The machine has been in place for about two years, and its existence wasn't widely known until recently. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is contacting state officials and the university to gather facts, agency spokeswoman Stephanie Yao said Tuesday.
Consumers have long been able to insert a few coins for the likes of aspirin, ibuprofen, antacids and other common over-the-counter remedies. But some experts see a worrisome trend in making drugs like Plan B, which is kept behind the pharmacy counter, available in a vending machine.
Taking Plan B within 72 hours of rape, condom failure or just forgetting regular contraception can cut the chances of pregnancy by up to 89 percent. It works best if taken within 24 hours. Some religious conservatives consider the emergency contraceptive tantamount to an abortion drug.
Rob Maher, a professor at the Duquesne University School of Pharmacy in Pittsburgh, said he had never heard of a vending machine dispensing Plan B, but noted that there have been vending machines in doctor's offices, and even a specialized machine designed to fill prescriptions. Still, he questioned whether the machine would make it possible for a young person to buy the drug without discussing their risk factors with a health care professional.
Said Anna Franzonello, counsel to Americans United For Life: "Students at Shippensburg University deserve better than to have their administration represent the potent drug with life-ending potential as no more harmful than any other vending machine item."
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
Why are we in this handbasket and why is it so hot?
...all I wanted was some M&Ms...
...and what you got was more like some D&Cs...
How about guys getting them and slipping it to a pregnant girl to avoid paternity problems?????
From what I’ve seen trolling on some women’s sites, this stuff is pretty much as essential as lipstick and eye shadow for most 18-25 yr olds.
Great...send your daughter to this school and she is automatically enrolled in “Slut 101”, regardless of her major.
Yeah...do frat houses have vending machines with combo packs of "roofies" and Plan B for $50?
Time to print up the “Go Ahead & Kill the Little Baby” stickers, complete with a photo, and plaster them all over these machines.
The Save the Babies ninjas will strike in the dark of night!
The thing that keeps getting glossed over is that the effects of this drug are no walk in the park. It induces, in effect, a miscarriage, with all of the attendant medical issues associated. Many, perhaps most, young women have no idea of what they’re getting into with this thing.
Putting it in a vending machine is a perfect example of the callousness of these people: they don’t even pretend to care about the baby, and they have proved, through actions like this, that they certainly don’t care about the woman, either.
The thing that keeps getting glossed over is that the effects of this drug are no walk in the park. It induces, in effect, a miscarriage, with all of the attendant medical issues associated. Many, perhaps most, young women have no idea of what they’re getting into with this thing.
Putting it in a vending machine is a perfect example of the callousness of these people: they don’t even pretend to care about the baby, and they have proved, through actions like this, that they certainly don’t care about the woman, either.
I have a friend that his wife gives his 15 year old stepdaughter one every weekend.
I just don’t get it.
How about guys keeping it in their shorts and saving twenty five bucks,
Why can't people just practice a bit of disipline and self-respect and just keep their damn pants on! Honesty, the STD rate must be thru the roof in the general population.
Get your can-openers!
First they open a can of worms,
then the girl or her daddy will open a can of "Whup A**"
once the guy is found out.
Next, a right to life hacker will hit these vending machines to replace the "morning after" pills with ones that turn your hair green and your face purple.
Makes you think of slippery slopes and the GEICO Little Piggie going "WHEEEEE...WHEEEE....WHEEEE!
To quote that eminent FR philosopher, Rightly Biased,"Why are we in this handbasket and why is it so hot?"
Taking those pills a few times can mess up your system. Taking them on a regular basis can leave you with major endocrine problems which lead to other major problems.
Since the girl is 15 I would put this down as child abuse.
And yet they panicked over Gardisol.
Yeah I agree and I have told my friend he needs to MAN UP but I don’t know if he will.
It makes me sad I have 3 daughters and I can’t even imagine.
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