NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) - Yale University has dropped plans to install a vending machine that dispenses birth control products at its largest residential college because it turns out it would violate Connecticut state law.
The "wellness-to-go" vending machine for Silliman College was proposed in the fall by a member of the Reproductive Justice Action League at Yale. The proposal was made because other colleges had installed the machines.
It would have dispensed Plan B emergency contraception and other over-the-counter items.
Lora Rae Anderson, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Consumer Protection, tells the New Haven Register that under state law, over-the-counter medications cannot be sold in a vending machine.
In response, university health services will now allow students to obtain Plan B for free without having to first talk to a clinician.