There’s Now a New Low-Cost Emergency Contraception Vending Machine on the Medical Campus | BU Today | Boston University

Oct 22, 2024

You can now find a low-cost emergency-contraception vending machine on the Medical Campus, in the Instructional Building basement. It’s the result of a collaboration between Student Health Services, Vending Services, and BU Medical Students for Choice.

Students on the Boston University Medical Campus (BUMC) now have access to low-cost emergency contraception, courtesy of a collaboration among students, Student Health Services (SHS), Student Affairs at the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, and BU Vending Services.

BU Medical Students for Choice (MSFC) worked closely with these groups to install a vending machine in the basement of the BUMC Instructional Building that dispenses a generic form of the Plan B morning-after pill for just $10, marking an important step toward expanding reproductive health resources on BU’s campuses. (Learn more about how Plan B and other forms of emergency contraception work here.)

“Student Health Services is committed to students’ sexual and reproductive health,” says Sarah Voorhees (SPH’13), SHS Health Promotion & Prevention assistant director of substance use, recovery, and sexual well-being. “This [low-cost and discreet] vending machine aligns with Student Health Services’ mission to enhance the physical and mental health of students by providing inclusive healthcare services and collaborating with the BU community on prevention and health promotion programs.”

In addition to dispensing a Plan B generic, the vending machine features info sheets on other sexual health resources, plus a QR code system for students to check in with SHS, notify Vending Services when the product needs a restock, or flag any other issues with the machine.

The vending machine, installed at the beginning of the fall 2024 semester, is the result of almost two years of groundwork by BUMC students.

After starting her first year of medical school, Anisha Patel (CAS’26, CAMED’26) was struck by how much more difficult it was to access certain resources than in her years as a BU undergrad.

“I was almost glued to the Medical Campus and the South End, and one of the more immediate things you notice is the change in how the campus is laid out and in the resources that are available,” says Patel, who worked with MSFC members to bring the machine to fruition. “There’s just a lot less that’s accessible compared to the number of pharmacies on the Charles River Campus, as well as Student Health Services being right there.”

Patel first turned to Student Affairs to gauge the feasibility of installing an emergency-contraception machine somewhere on the Medical Campus, like the one on the Charles River Campus in the basement of the GSU. From there, she teamed up with MSFC members Kendra Lujan (CAMED’25), Margaux Zimmerman (CAMED’25), Hannah Nguyen (CAMED’25), Eesha Sachdeva (CAS’25, CAMED’25), and Erika Rodriguez (CAMED’19,’24) to create a needs-assessment survey for BUMC students, before presenting a proposal to Student Health Services.

The surveys revealed that students were overwhelmingly very excited about the idea, Patel says, and “a lot of people said that it was long overdue,” particularly for graduate students with unpredictable, demanding schedules.

“Your time limitations are completely different when you’re in any challenging graduate science education program,” she continues. “It’s not like school is a small portion of your life—there are so many aspects of your education that bleed into your day-to-day, and that can limit the time you have to spend with friends, explore the city, or take care of your health.”

Going forward, Patel and MSFC hope to bring even more sexual-health resources to the Medical Campus—among them a supply station that provides students with free condoms and other safe-sex supplies—with the help of SHS. Patel says they’ve also been in talks with students at other colleges who have expressed interest in bringing emergency contraception vending machines to their campuses.

“Our goal was to promote reproductive and financial wellness for BU graduate students; if there are any other initiatives that are inspired by this, we’d be really excited to see that happen,” she says.

If nothing else, she says, they’re pleased to see students engaging in conversations around reproductive health.

“Reproductive rights are still so stigmatized, so it’s nice to see that they’re at the forefront of a lot of political discussion,” Patel says. “Projects [like the vending machine] spark conversation—seeing young people engaged and involved in these discussions is always very exciting.”

There’s Now a New Low-Cost Emergency Contraception Vending Machine on the Medical Campus