Planned Parenthood affiliate opens free Plan B vending machine at New Hampshire college

Students at Plymouth State University in New Hampshire can now get free Plan B from a campus vending machine.

The Reproductive Rights Action Club opened the machine April 24. The club is part of Planned Parenthood’s Generation Action network.

The machine is in the Hartman Union Building. It also has condoms, over-the-counter birth control, pregnancy tests and other products.

The club bought the Plan B while Planned Parenthood and other groups gave it most of the other products.

The Plymouth State Student Senate spent $1,900 on the machine, according to the Clock⁠, the school’s student newspaper.

Plymouth State charges full-time students a mandatory $211 student activities fee per semester. Part-time students pay $9 per credit.

The school says the fee supports “student club activities as approved by Student Government.” Students must pay it even if they don’t support club activities, such as this one.

The machine has a timer to stop one person from quickly emptying it. It still lets students get Plan B without talking to a doctor or pharmacist.

Club president Hannah Lowell said students need the machine because Plymouth, New Hampshire, is rural. The town’s Rite Aid closed in 2025.

“Living in a very rural area in the mountains, it’s especially important to have access when it’s under attack,” Lowell told the Clock.

Planned Parenthood normally funds the club. However, Planned Parenthood of Northern New England has faced an $8.6 million shortfall⁠. This led the club to ask the Student Senate for money.

Plan B is an emergency birth control drug. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration⁠ says it usually stops or delays ovulation. The agency says it doesn’t end an existing pregnancy.

A University of New Hampshire Planned Parenthood student group opened a similar machine in 2024.

Heartlander News reported in 2023⁠ that 39 colleges in 17 states had machines offering Plan B.

In other college news, Northern Illinois University recently held two Gender and Sexuality Student Social events.

The public university offered these events Aug. 25 and 28.

“Join friends and learn more about gender and sexuality-centered organizations, academics, and opportunities to connect at TWO student social opportunities,” the school’s website says.

The Gender and Sexuality Resource Center helped host the events. The center says it works to “challenge societal constructs of gender and sexuality norms” and promote social justice.

Northern Illinois University’s diversity office also supported these meetings. The office says its programs “promote anti-racism in our community.”