WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — Aiza Saeed and Neharika Rao are making sure students at George Washington University have access to emergency contraception pills.
In the wake of the overturn of Roe v. Wade, Saeed — a senior — and Rao — a sophomore — said they wanted to show students at George Washington University that they had their backs and support during this time.
Rao and Saeed led the effort to make Plan B pills more accessible. A vending machine stocked with these pills was installed a little over a week ago in the basement of the University Student Center.
‘We thought a great first step would be to implement a Plan B vending machine in which, it is talked about and it is out there as a topic. Right now, a lot of discussions are going on about it, and that’s great because we’re able to get the word out that contraception should not be stigmatized. … The way that we can really spur reproductive rights as human rights is by having these conversations,” said Rao.
Right now, the pills are being sold for $30, but the students say the goal is to lower the price to make it even more affordable for students.
“We actually never thought that this was going to actually happen, and so actually seeing it is amazing. I would definitely say that if you want this to come to your school, and you really want to show that reproductive rights are human rights, and to start to defeat that stigma behind contraception and topics surrounding this, you really need to put an idea out there and stand by it because it definitely can happen,” said Rao.
The machine also sells tampons and Advil.