Access for All: Emergency Contraceptives at Michigan State University [ID 1451]

INTRODUCTION: Due to the high prices of emergency contraceptives (ECs), college students encounter unique barriers to accessing ECs. To showcase the need for more affordable and accessible ECs, Michigan State University (MSU) students created East Lansing Free Emergency Contraceptives (ELFreeEC), which provides free ECs to students. METHODS: ELFreeEC secured a grant from Plan B One-Step to receive shipments of free Plan B. ELFreeEC partnered with several MSU departments for distribution sites and created an anonymous meet-up distribution system through a Google Form. If comfortable, students can share their gender identity and who the EC was for, themselves or someone else. RESULTS: From October 16, 2023, to September 23, 2024, 2,676 ECs were distributed through third parties, meet-ups, and events, saving students $133,800. Of those who chose to disclose their gender identity for meet-ups, 80% identified as cisgender women, 11.9% identified as cisgender men, and 2.2% identified as nonbinary. 64.1% disclosed that they are picking up ECs for themselves, and 26.6% said it for someone else. 72.7% of meet-ups occurred on campus, which is notable for first and second-year students because they must live on campus and typically have limited access to transportation. CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS: The data reflects a variety of gender identities in need of this service, showcasing that intersectionality is central to this work. Our work confirmed the dire need for students to have accessible ECs. For future work to ensure sustainability, ELFreeEC is working to install a health vending machine with affordable ECs, which will appear in October 2024.