FDA Will Not Intervene Over Emergency Contraception Vending Machine on College Campus

January 31, 2013 — FDA regulators announced they will not take action regarding a vending machine that dispenses emergency contraception on Shippensburg University's campus in Pennsylvania, MSN News reports.

The machine is located in the school's health center, which can only be accessed by students and employees, and offers Plan B One-Step for $25. Under federal law, individuals ages 17 and older may purchase EC without a prescription.

The machine has been in place for about three years but it wasn’t widely known until it drew national media attention last year, prompting critics to claim it would encourage students to have sex. In response to the scrutiny, the Student Senate and the University Forum both passed resolutions in support of keeping the machine.

Erica Jefferson, an FDA spokesperson, in a statement said the agency "looked at publicly available information about Shippensburg's vending program and spoke with university and campus health officials and decided not to take any regulatory actions."

Peter Gigliotti, executive director for university communications and marketing, in a statement said an additional card reader has been installed on the machine, which students must use before accessing the drugs (Eng, MSN News, 1/29).