University of Florida student government OKs 'Plan B' vending machines for morning-after pill
Plan B is an emergency contraceptive containing a synthetic hormone, levonorgestrel
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The student senate at the University of Florida has voted in support of a proposal to install vending machines around campus that would sell the so-called morning-after pill.
Plan B is a "backup method of birth control" designed to reduce a woman’s risk of pregnancy when taken shortly after unprotected sex, according to the Food and Drug Administration. It consists of pills containing the drug levonorgestrel, which is a synthetic hormone also used in other birth control pills.
The proposal would make Plan B available in campus vending machines 24 hours a day. The University of Boston recently added similar machines to its campus in March.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Currently, the drug is sold at the school’s pharmacy, which is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday and noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday. It is closed Saturdays, according to hours of operation posted on its website.
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A package of PlanB One-Step, an emergency contraceptive pill, is seen in security packaging at a CVS Pharmacy in Washington, U.S., July 7, 2022. (REUTERS/Sarah Silbiger/File Photo)
A school spokesperson told Fox News Digital Wednesday that administrators were aware of the senate’s proposal and were reviewing it.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A number of students spoke up in support of the proposal before the vote, according to the Gainesville-based WCJB-TV.
Earlier this month, a student senator had proposed a $1.5 million bill to fund abortions and subsidize student contraceptives on campus, the Alligator, a student paper, reported.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The University of Florida’s chapter of Young America’s Foundation, a conservative student group, had opposed parts of the bill that sought to cover to the costs of abortion, as well as travel to and from appointments.
The measure failed, and the new bill does not include those provisions, according to Kara Zupkus, a national spokesperson for YAF.
A Plan B One-Step emergency contraceptive box is seen in New York, April 5, 2013. (REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton)
It’s not the first time groups have pushed for vending machines to sell the pills on campus – a feminist organization called National Women’s Liberation endorsed the idea back in 2018, WCJB reported. The group’s Gainesville chapter renewed its endorsement earlier this week.
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The Supreme Court’s landmark Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health decision, which overturned the longstanding abortion protections established in Roe v. Wade and sparked weeks of pro-abortion protests, did not ban Plan B or other contraceptives.
A judge earlier this month blocked Florida’s 15-week abortion ban, but due to the state’s appeal, the order has been stayed.