$3 pregnancy tests will soon be available for purchase in public restrooms in Minnesota.
Pregnancy dispensers will be installed in various bars and restaurants around the state to help women avoid drinking alcohol while pregnant.
The kits are being distributed by nonprofit organization, Healthy Brains For Children, in response to a government study released Thursday, which found that one in 13 women have consumed an alcoholic beverage during pregnancy. The organization hopes to decrease this number dramatically through providing these affordable and easily accessible tests.
The organization's founder, Jody Crowe, hopes to make the kits available in other places around the world as well. According to the Star Tribune, his goal is "to target those at high risk for unexpect[ed] pregnancies."
Crowe hopes that the dispensers can be installed in other places such as gas stations, malls, fitness centers and other locations that could accommodate them.
Crowe says that the test dispensers will give women the opportunity "to take a pregnancy test in the privacy of the restroom without having to purchase a pregnancy test over the counter. In a small community, purchasing a pregnancy test can be an embarrassing event and expose the woman to the gossip of the town."
The first bar to install the dispensers will be Pub 500, located in Mankato, Minnesota.
The organization is currently working to get over 100 dispensers placed in locations around Minneapolis and Saint Paul.
