On December 1 2021, the Supreme Court heard arguments on reviving Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban in the case of Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. According to feminists and pro-abortion experts, outcomes are looking grim. They expect the loss of Roe v. Wade, the last-standing protection for abortion.
College students all over the country are responding to such efforts to ban safe and legal abortion by improving access to sexual and reproductive services on their campuses. One method is through sexual wellness vending machines.
Why College Campuses Need Sexual Wellness Vending Machines
The Supreme Court’s decision will not be announced until June 2022, and all other abortion bans that have—and will—be passed before then will heavily affect college students. So far, students at UC Davis, Stanford, Columbia, and more have campaigned for sexual wellness vending machines. These vending machines are primarily focused on increasing access to emergency contraceptives (ECs). ECs are pills that, when taken within 72 hours after unprotected sex, are about 75 to 85% effective at reducing the chance of pregnancy. ECs are not equivalent to the abortion pill. ECs can prevent an unwanted pregnancy before it can occur.
The costs of losing reproductive autonomy are immense. Dobbs is a landmark Roe v. Wade ruling because it directly challenges Roe v. Wade. It could bring many women back to a time before Roe when women “tried to end their own pregnancies or sought back-alley abortions.” According to a recent study, banning abortion nationwide would lead to a 21% increase in the number of pregnancy-related deaths overall.
In anticipation of the Supreme Court rolling back reproductive right to safe and legal abortion, increasing access to ECs, which has a shelf life of up to four years, can arm students with the necessary tools to keep these bans off their bodies.
What Are the Barriers to Smith Students?
With recent attacks on abortion, creating a movement to increase accessibility to reproductive and sexual health resources can provide a safeguard for Smith students. While the on-campus Schacht Medical Center offers emergency contraceptives at a subsidized rate, ECs are only accessible between 9 am and 4:30 pm during weekdays. As a result, students experience long wait times for care when they need emergency contraceptives most. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated this issue, increasing the overall need for medical services. Accessing these resources is difficult on and off-campus, and barriers to accessing sexual and reproductive services grow steeper.
Local avenues for reproductive and sexual care have grown less accessible. Tapestry Health, the local Title X clinic offering services on a sliding scale, recently changed locations. What was once a five-minute walk from campus is now a whopping 45. For many students who rely on Tapestry, their options to accessing affordable healthcare, support services, and education for safer practices “without stigma” have grown slimmer.
A pansexual junior at Smith College and past HCO in Park House doesn’t go to the Schacht Medical Center for sexual and reproductive care. She says “I don’t know what services the Schacht Center on campus offers, but I feel less stigma with accessing care off-campus.”
It’s hard for students to get an appointment on campus. “There is [a] culture of need at Smith in terms of using the Schacht Center … because it’s too backed up, and I know that’s created some stigma around who should go. It’s like … go if you have a crisis or an emergency, but if you’re worried about maintenance, maybe you shouldn’t”, she continued. Stigma prevents students from accessing care on campus, yet Tapestry has grown less accessible to students without cars.
Students could walk five minutes to the local CVS on Main Street to access emergency contraceptives, only it costs $49.99 (plus tax) for Plan B One-Step. While CVS is a lot closer than Tapestry, it’s financially out of reach for low-income students. Cost is a major barrier for Smith students in accessing services.
Cost isn’t the only barrier here. A sophomore living in Cutter says “when you bring [Plan B] to the counter it feels shameful… [and] exposed… like [people are] … like ‘oh I know why you need that, that you’re sexually active and not taking protective measures, which is not always the case.” Stigma is faced even off-campus.
One Solution: Sexual Wellness Vending Machines
Sexual wellness vending machines on Smith’s campus can remove these barriers to accessing sexual health services. Smith Students for Reproductive Justice (SSRJ) are currently campaigning for sexual wellness vending machines. SSRJ is a student-led organization aiming to engage, educate, and empower college students to raise public awareness about sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice. They work with and support their local Planned Parenthood health centers, and mobilize Smith students around reproductive rights.
Hannah Beck, co-chair of SSRJ argues that “sexual wellness vending machines are a key part of the movement to prevent unwanted pregnancy and promote sexual wellness on campus.”
According to Beck, SSRJ has been advocating for sexual wellness vending machines for a long time but it’s “remained up in the air.” The org has reached out to the national organization, American Society for Emergency Contraceptives (ASEC) for support on getting these vending machines onto Smith’s campus. She excitedly says, “once vending machines are on campus, hopefully at the beginning of next fall semester, we can offer more than just emergency contraceptives [in the vending machines].”
Sexual wellness vending machines remove stigma around youth sexuality. According to Parteek Singh, a student activist who successfully campaigned to get an EC vending machine at UC Davis,“[EC vending machines remove] human interaction, which in itself is increasing accessibility.”
Sexual wellness vending machines will fit Smith students’ needs. As a campaign done by and for students, sexual wellness vending machines would be able to provide students with more than just ECs. The Smith students interviewed for this article unanimously requested these vending machines be stocked with:
- Quality condoms, dental dams, finger & female condoms
- Menstrual products (pads, tampons, diva cups, pain-relief pills)
- Pregnancy tests
- How-to-use booklets for all contraceptives provided, and more!
Sexual wellness vending machines are more accessible & affordable. Students will be able to get emergency contraceptives within 72 hours. The sophomore living in Cutter agrees. “I think I’d be able to access Plan B more privately … I could just go and access it myself,” she says. They provide discreet and affordable access. She recommends the vending machines be in the basement of the campus center with all the other vending machines. “If [the vending machines] were isolated downstairs where there aren’t students out all the time, then … I’d feel less exposed and embarrassed.”
All interviewees urged that all products in the vending machine be subsidized, or at least more affordable than at CVS. Beck so eloquently put, “there is a need in the student body, and that need isn’t being met. Smith College has a responsibility to do something about this.”
The movement is underway! Here’s how to become a part of it:
- Join and stay up-to-date on this movement by following SSRJ on Handshake
- Read the article on nationwide campaigns for EC vending machines on college campuses by Professor Carrie Baker.
- Read up on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Center
