College Vending Machine Dispenses Plan B

SHIPPENSBURG, Pa - Students at a Pennsylvania university can obtain the "morning-after" pill from an unusual source -- a vending machine at the campus health center.

The vending machine at Shippensburg University's Etter Health Center provides the Plan B emergency contraceptive along with condoms, decongestants and pregnancy tests.

Vice President for Student Affairs Roger Serr says the machine was installed after a request from the student association and a survey found 85 percent of student respondents supported it.

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

The drug isn't covered or subsidized by the school. Instead it is supplied for $25, the school's cost to the pharmaceutical company and less than at off-campus pharmacies.

Shippensburg is a school of about 8,300 students about 125 miles west of Philadelphia.