Researching the History of Planned Parenthood Federation of America
Our 2019 Fellow, Heather Munro Prescott, PhD, talks to us about her fellowship experience
Heather Munro Prescott, PhD, Professor of History at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, was our fellow in 2019. She took the time to talk to us about her experience as a fellow and the research she was able to do.
Did you focus on any women in medicine specifically? If so, who were they and how did their stories connect to your research?
Yes, I did look specifically at women in medicine who were key actors in the birth control movement.
The ones I looked at specifically were Hannah Meyer Stone, head of Margaret Sanger's Clinical Research Bureau; Mary Steichen Calderone, who was medical director of Planned Parenthood Federation of America from 1953-1964; and Elizabeth Connell who worked with Planned Parenthood on contraceptive technologies and testified before Congress about the safety of the birth control pill in the 1970s.
These doctor's stories expand our understanding of Planned Parenthood’s history in that they show the critical work that women doctors played in expanding access to birth control, researching the effectiveness of contraceptive technologies, and establishing birth control as a legitimate medical service that all women deserved.
What collections or sources did you use while at the Countway Library?
I used the Papers of Elizabeth B. Connell; The Papers of Abraham Stone which also includes his wife's work, Doctor Hannah Mayer Stone; and the Papers of Alan Guttmacher which illustrate his activities as President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America from the 1950s until his death in 1974.
Tell us about your next steps with your research.
My next steps are to start working on a book-length manuscript on the history of Planned Parenthood from its beginning to the present day. Although there are other scholarly works on the history of the birth control movement in the United States, none of them cover the entire history of Planned Parenthood.
Most focus on the early history of the organization and its founder Margaret Sanger. Legal scholars have looked at key court decisions that have affected Planned Parenthood and other birth control providers, but their emphasis is on the period from the United States Supreme Court decision Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) onward.
There are no scholarly works that examine the critical period following the Second World War when Planned Parenthood built its reputation as the premier public health organization dedicated to birth control and reproductive health care in the United States.
How will your work make a difference for us today?
My research proposes to bridge this gap in scholarship by looking at the entire history of Planned Parenthood. Such a study is important because of the heated debate about the organization in the public sphere.
My study also intends to look beyond major national figures like Margaret Sanger. I am especially interested in recovering the perspectives of women doctors and other female health providers who contributed to the success of Planned Parenthood on both the national and local levels.
I also intend to demonstrate how national and local Planned Parenthood staff built alliances with other organizations, including members of the clergy, who helped the organization gain respectability among the American public. I argue that these rank and file employees and their community allies made Planned Parenthood the cultural icon it is today.
Was the Foundation fellowship impactful for your research?
Yes, it was very impactful for my research. It allowed me to examine key collections in the Countway library that are essential in documenting the history of Planned Parenthood.
More On Our Fellowships
Foundation Fellowships are done in conjunction with institutions that have collections on women in medicine so that these stories are brought to light and ideally used to advance our present and future. Learn more about our current Fellowships.