There’s an expression that goes something like this: ‘If men could get pregnant, you would be able to get an abortion with your morning coffee.’

And it’s painfully true. If men were the ones who could have their bodies and careers changed by getting in the family way, birth control would be a whole different ball game. Family planning would be a way of life. There would be new, exciting methods of contraception being invented at a rate of knots. You’d be able to buy the morning after pill from vending machines.

Only - and here’s where things get exciting - that last one isn't an imaginary scenario. It's actually happening.

Student Rachel Samuels, who studies at Stanford in the US, brought the idea to the university after her older brother successfully campaigned to install one at Pomona University. The University of California, Santa Barbara and the University of California, Davis have also adopted the machines on campus. They also sell pregnancy tests, sanitary products, painkillers and anti-histamine.