The University of Connecticut (UConn) has placed a vending machine containing the emergency contraceptive Plan B on campus as part of a larger effort to increase access to birth control for students.
Democratic Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont signed a series of laws in 2023 that required universities within the state to create a plan to address “students’ need for reproductive healthcare” and allow pharmacists to begin prescribing hormonal birth control without a doctor’s visit. With the governor’s approval, UConn’s School of Pharmacy created a training program for that very purpose in late January and announced that the legislation also allowed for the placement of the vending machines, according to UConn Today.
“Allowing pharmacists to both prescribe and dispense hormonal birth control could help mitigate barriers and expand access to contraception for the citizens of our state,” Philip Hritcko, UConn School of Pharmacy dean, said of the announcement, according to UConn Today.
The governor said the legislation is meant to address a shortage of healthcare professionals providing birth control related services in the state, according to UConn Today.
“This is just one of the many ways we’re working to expand access to contraception and other important medications in Connecticut,” Lament said at the time, UConn Today reported.
“Through UConn Student Health and Wellness, students have access to counseling and guidance on the use of both prescription and over the counter medications of all varieties,” Mike Enright, a UConn spokesman, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “All products included in the vending machine comply with applicable law, including Levonorgestrel [emergency contraceptive] tablets that have been stocked since late 2024 in response to the student-run initiative. All products are in their original packaging with the accompanying product directions and precautions and are available only to students using the University’s proprietary Husky Bucks card.”
The university already offers Plan B, condoms and other sex products to undergraduate students at no cost, according to UConn’s health page.
While Plan B claims to act as any other method of birth control, some evidence suggests that it may have the potential to cause abortions in some cases.
Connecticut law permits abortions to be performed up until week 24 of pregnancy and allows for abortions to be performed after the cutoff if one’s “health or life is in danger.” In 2022, Lamont expanded the list of individuals who may perform certain abortion procedures in the state to include advanced practice clinicians, registered nurses, nurse-midwives and physician assistants.
Blue states have increasingly been pushing for birth control and abortions to be made available on college campuses, with Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signing a bill in 2023 that forced universities to provide abortion pills on demand for students. Stanford University in California has had a birth control vending machine on campus since 2017, which also offers students condoms and emergency contraceptives.
UConn did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
This article has been updated to include a comment provided to the DCNF by the University of Connecticut.
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