OXFORD, Ohio — Miami University could become the first college in Ohio to have Plan B vending machines on campus, after its Associated Student Government recently proposed the initiative. While many people, like Kennedy Cordes, a junior biology and neuroscience double major, supports the initiative, others are against it.
“I think it’s a really good opportunity,” she said. “You never know what’s going to happen on campuses, and so just having access to that I think it’s a really good thing.”
Plan B is an over-the counter contraceptive medication that delays or prevents ovulation, according to the Mayo Clinic. One pill typically costs anywhere between $40-$50 at a pharmacy. But universities who have already installed Plan B vending machines are only charging between $5-$20.
“I think that’s very reasonably priced, for sure,” she said.
The machines would be funded by the Associated Student Government and not the university.
“I sent it to my mom once I saw it, and she was like, ‘It’s a great thing,’” she said. “I’m so happy that it’s coming to campus.”
But not everyone is as excited about it as Cordes and her mom. The university’s Students for Life organization created a petition against the vending machines. It cites research that shows the contraceptive can cause serious complications, can be ineffective and potentially create serious long-term health conditions in the future. Other anti-abortion organizations, like Created Equal, agree.
“The first effect is that it kills a baby if they’re pregnant,” said Mark Harrington, the Created Equal president. “Dispensing an abortion drug on a college campus, treating it like Coca-Cola or some soft drink or candy or something, is trivializing what we’re dealing with here.”
Harrington said he’s strongly against the proposed initiative and plans to bring his organization on campus in the spring to educate college students about the dangers of using the pill.
“The debate is long since ceased on college campuses, and if it is being discussed, it’s one-sided,” said Harrington. “So we offer the alternative position that is that abortion is an act of violence and it kills a baby and we’re trying to change hearts and minds.”
ASG said it is currently working on the sourcing of products, costs and a potential campus location for the vending machines. The time frame and date of completion is unknown as of right now.
