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The morning after-pill is now more easily available to students at one Pennsylvania University – it is being dispensed from a campus vending machine.

Each day, at least one Shippensburg University student, on average buys a $25  ’Plan B’ emergency contraceptive pill from the machine.

Located in the university health centre, it also provides condoms, and pregnancy tests as well as cough drops and cold remedies.

Vending machine with a difference: Every day at least one Shippensburg University student, on average, buys a $25 ‘Plan B’ emergency contraceptive pill from the machine

Doctor Roger Serr, university vice president for student affairs said ‘somewhere between 350 and 400 (doses) are being sold’ each year, reported Ship News Now.

However, accessing the vending machine is not as easy as normal machines – it is only open during health centre hours so it is closed in the evenings, after 2 p.m. on Fridays and all weekend.

Doctor Serr said the idea for the vending machine was from the University’s Student Association.

 ’We went out and did a survey of the student body, and we got an 85 percent response rate that students would be supportive of having Plan B in the health centre,’ he said to Ship News Now.

‘The vending machine is just a way to dispense it. It’s provided, it’s not necessarily promoted on a large scale,’ he added.

Plan B is available without a prescription to anyone 17 or older.

The students pay $150 per year in health fees, but Doctor Serr said they do not fund the vending machines.

Instead the university pays $25 to a pharmaceutical company, which is what it is priced at in the vending machine.

The installation has provoked mixed reactions across the internet.

Discussing the move on a social network site one user said:

While another wrote ‘I fully support this, it’s a much better idea than going through unnecessary embarrassment and questions from the campus nurse when all you want to do is just make sure you’re okay. Sometimes that can put people off all together!’

Another user said ‘This is so bad. It is just encouraging promiscuous behaviour and means students won’t stop to think about their actions at all now.’

Although the morning-after pill can protect against unwanted pregnancy, it does not protect against sexually transmitted diseases and health professionals warn it should not be used as a regular form of birth control.

If used too frequently patients can experience nausea,menstrual irregularities and vomiting, Doctor Sulang Rosado, an obstetrician and gynecologist at Summit Women’s Group in Chambersburg told Ship News Now.

Other universities in the state system such as Millersville University   require students have an appointment with campus medical staff before the pill is made available.

I’m already knowing that some people are going to take it upon themselves to be offended at such an act, but let’s just keep it real. This is COMMON SENSE, birth control is very necessary. These students are in college taking out expensive loans, grants and scholarships.. The last thing they need is to waste the money by getting pregnant and having to drop out.

Some might argue that a human life is much more important than wasting money.  I argue that it’s not a life yet 2 days after you have sex.  Some might argue that students should be more responsible and not have unprotected sex.  That is a great argument, except that it’s just not going to happen especially with drugs and alchohol being apart of many of the nations college campus’.

The last of you might argue that it’s not a college’s place to provide birth control for the students.  Nope it’s not, that’s why the college is smart enough to hire a pharmaceutical company to fill the machine up.. This makes perfect sense.. Some might be pregnant after waiting too many days. Some might have a condom break. In any case a lot more unwanted pregnancies will be prevented seeing as to how the emergency birth control is just a few doors down on the campus…

In the world we live in today it would be nice if everyone would practice and utilize common sense, including the people who are constantly telling people what they should and should not do.. I mean face it. SH!T HAPPENS.