For many young female students, purchasing the morning-after pill can be an uncomfortable, somewhat frightening experience.

“I’ve had to purchase (it) before, and it’s scary,” said one OSU junior who asked to remain anonymous. “You have to walk into the pharmacy and ask a stranger for a pill you need when it’s supposed to be something personal and private.”

What if OSU students didn’t have to make the trip to CVS to get “Plan B,” but could purchase it from a campus vending machine with the verifying swipe of their BuckID?

That idea might seem far-fetched, but it’s a real scenario for some students.

Shippensburg University, a public college in Pennsylvania, is receiving a lot of media attention this week for the controversial use of a vending machine at its health center to dispense “Plan B,” the morning after pill.

OSU doesn’t currently offer Plan B in vending machines, but the Wilce Student Health Center does offer an extensive list of women’s services. These services range from contraceptive counseling, prescription and management to emergency contraception with an appointment.

James Jacobs, director of Student Health Services at OSU’s Wilce Student Health Center, said he questions the legality of the vending machine concept.

“I can’t see how it would be legal,” he said. “A pharmacist is supposed to be present in order to check for identification during the purchase.”

Now the Food and Drug Administration is investigating that exact issue. The FDA is seeking to determine whether Shippensburg is complying with the requirement that only women 17-years-old or older can purchase the pill.

If the FDA clears Shippensburg and says it’s legal to dispense the pills through vending machines and student IDs, would OSU students support the move?

A survey taken at Shippensburg showed 85 percent of students there were in favor of seeing the vending machine installed. The machine also dispenses condoms and pregnancy tests.

Adam Bellamy, a junior studying financial planning, sees this method for distribution as far too casual.

“A vending machine is just too informal,” he said. “If you’re too embarrassed to go to a pharmacy and pick up the pill, imagine how embarrassed you’ll be if you end up pregnant.”

Katie Ozamiz said she thinks college students should have greater access to morning-after pills.

“(B)ut I don’t see the integrity in putting them in vending machines,” she said. “It seems demoralizing. Colleges shouldn’t promote the morning-after pill as a form of birth control. And where would they be placed? In bars?”

Yinan Yang said there should be easier access to morning-after pills, too.

“(I)t’s the student’s choice to use it or not,” Yang said. “If someone wants to give up their child, they should have easy access to make that decision.”

In Ohio, if you are over the age of 17, you can walk into your local pharmacy and purchase the Plan B pill simply by showing your ID to a pharmacist. The pharmacist is meant to serve as a helpful resource for women who buy the pill. They can ask the pharmacist questions about the pill, its side effects, its effectiveness and how to use it.

One OSU student, Kelly Hartnett, said pharmacists should be available to ensure students use the pill correctly, without the threat of overuse.

“The morning after pill is a drug,” she said. “Putting it in such a public space would make it difficult to limit how much someone uses it.”

Marie Angles, a sophomore at OSU studying early childhood development, is against the concept entirely.

“I don’t believe in abortion; I believe in waiting it out and dealing with the consequences,” she said. “But for now, it should lie in the hands of the medical professionals, not in a vending machine.”

The pill is not medically considered an abortion pill. It’s a high dose of birth control that acts as a contraceptive, preventing pregnancy by stopping fertilization of the ovary, the release of the egg from the ovary or a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterus.

Some students agree that the pill is a contraceptive. Janet Kim, a senior majoring in accounting, is one of them. She said the vending machine concept makes sense to her.

“It shouldn’t be such a hassle,” she said. “If you can go to a store and get the pill, why shouldn’t you be able to get it otherwise?”

Caitlin Port, a third year majoring in speech and hearing science, said students should be able to purchase the pill this way.

“On campus, you might not have a car,” she said. “Making the pill more accessible on campus grounds would act in students’ favor.”

UWeekly writer Ashley Fournier contributed. For more information on these services, visit shc.osu.edu.