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Upstate Medical University becomes first SUNY to bring emergency contraceptive vending machine to its campus SUNY Upstate introduces emergency contraceptive vending machine

By Jonah Weintraub

LAST WEEK, UPSTATE MEDICAL UNIVERSITY INTRODUCED AN EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTION VENDING MACHINE ON ITS CAMPUS. CO-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE NEW YORK BIRTH CONTROL ACCESS PROJECT, ROCHELLE RODNEY, EXPLAINED HOW THE IDEA CAME TO FRUITION

(“We have some of their students at our organization that was working with us, and some of them decided that they wanted to do petitioning on their campus to garner support for placement of emergency contraception in those vending machines. And once they gathered petitions, they brought those petitions to their college administrators. and that’s what made things start.”)

ON TOP OF EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTIVES, THE MACHINE ALSO SELLS PREGNANCY TESTS AND ANTI-INFLAMMATORIES LIKE ADVIL. BUT RODNEY SAYS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THE MACHINE PROVIDES IS ACCESSIBILITY.

(“You can decide when you want to go to the vending machine and purchase it. And it’s also being sold at a low cost at $10. And a drugstore and pharmacy is about $30 to $60 that you’ll find it for.”)

WHAT MAKES THIS VENDING MACHINE ESPECIALLY SIGNIFICANT, THOUGH, IS THAT IT’S THE FIRST OF ITS KIND TO BE ESTABLISHED ON A SUNY CAMPUS. THE SYSTEM ENCOMPASSES OVER 60 PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN THE EMPIRE STATE, AND RODNEY SAYS THAT UPSTATE COULD SET AN EXAMPLE FOR OTHER SUNY’S.

(“It puts into perspective the safety of this. It puts into perspective that a Sony school can do this as well, and that they can place at a low cost. So I hope that other schools across the state are able to see that and be inspired by that..”)

VENDING MACHINES LIKE THE ONE AT UPSTATE HAVE BECOME IN HIGHER DEMAND SINCE ROE V. WADE WAS OVERTURNED IN THE SUMMER OF 2022. AND THOUGH NEW YORK IS VERY PROTECTIVE OF ABORTION RIGHTS, THE RULING STILL RAISED THE PRICE OF CONTRACEPTIVES ACROSS ALL STATES.

JONAH WEINTRAUB, NCC NEWS 


SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – Upstate Medical University placed an emergency contraception vending machine on its campus last week, making it the first SUNY school to implement such a machine.

The effort to bring the dispenser to Upstate was spearheaded by Serena Schmitt and Olivia Preston, two third-year medical students at the university. The pair’s advocacy also received significant backing from the New York Birth Control Access Project.

Rochelle Rodney, the co-executive director of NYBCAP, detailed the process of how the vending machine was brought to Upstate.

“We had some of their students at our organization who were working with us and learning about legislative education and grassroots organizing,” Rodney said. “Some of them decided that they wanted to petition on their campus to garner support for placement of emergency contraception in those vending machines. And once they gathered petitions, they brought those petitions to their college administrators. And that’s what made things start.”

The vending machine itself offers students My Way, a levonorgestrel, but also has pregnancy tests, anti-inflammatories such as Advil, acetaminophen, and more. However, the most important thing the machine provides students is accessibility, Rodney claimed.

“Instead of having to go and speak to someone about purchasing your emergency contraception, you can decide when you want to go to the vending machine and purchase it,” Rodney said. “And it’s also being sold at a low cost of $10. So that’s another thing that makes it more accessible than going to a pharmacy or a drug store — because in a drug store or pharmacy, it’s about $30 to $60 that you’ll find it for.”

Private schools in the state such as New York University and CUNYs like the University of Buffalo had already introduced similar vending machines within the past year, but the SUNY system includes 40 more public schools than the CUNY system. The addition of a vending machine to Upstate’s campus can hopefully serve as an example for other SUNYs, Rodney hopes.

“I think that especially since Upstate Medical is a medical school, it puts into perspective the safety of this,” Rodney stated. “It puts into perspective that a SUNY school can do this as well and that they can place at a low cost. So I hope that other schools across the state are able to see that and be inspired by that.”

After Roe v. Wade was overturned in the summer of 2022, these types of machines have become more popular on campuses nationwide. Upstate appears to be the first of potentially many in the Empire State to adopt the trend for itself.

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