Federal law makes the pill available without a prescription to anyone 17 or older, and the school checked records and found that all current students are that age or older, a spokesman said. It doesn't appear that any other vending machine in the U.S. dispenses the contraceptive, which can prevent pregnancy if taken soon after sexual intercourse.
The machine has been in place for about two years, and its existence wasn't widely known until recently. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is contacting state officials and the university to gather facts, spokeswoman Stephanie Yao said Tuesday.
The FDA's sudden interest took place amid a furor over religious rights and access to birth control. An official resigned from the nation's largest breast cancer charity Tuesday over Planned Parenthood funding, and Republican presidential candidates attacked the Obama administration for a recent ruling requiring church-affiliated employers to provide birth control.
Consumers have long been able to insert a few coins for the likes of aspirin, ibuprofen, antacids and other common over-the-counter remedies. But some experts see a worrisome trend in making drugs like Plan B, which is kept behind the pharmacy counter, available in a vending machine.
Alexandra Stern, a professor of the history of medicine at the University of Michigan, said she wasn't questioning a woman's right to have access to Plan B, but whether making it so easily available is a good idea. "Perhaps it is personalized medicine taken too far," she said. "It's part of the general trend that drugs are available for consumers without interface with a pharmacist or doctors. This trend has serious pitfalls."
Taking Plan B within 72 hours of rape, condom failure or just forgetting regular contraception can cut the chances of pregnancy by up to 89 percent. It works best if taken within 24 hours. Some religious conservatives consider the emergency contraceptive tantamount to an abortion drug.
