Proposal and Annotated Bibliography

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Student Name

RHET 1302

Professor Riley

Date

Proposal and Annotated Bibliography

For the final research paper, I choose to focus my research on the birth control pill the

various ways it has impacted women over the years. The combined oral contraceptive pill

contains naturally occurring hormones, Estradiol and Progesterone, that suppress female

ovulation and allow the body to mimic the conditions of pregnancy, in a way. In order for a

female to release an egg, the Luteinizing hormone (LH) and the Follicle-stimulating hormone

(FSH) within the body need to sharply spike in concentration. However, when using a birth

control pill, the hormones within the pill block the release of LH and FSH, therefore preventing

ovulation. Sharp drops in Progesterone and Estradiol lead to the shedding of the uterine lining, or

menstruation. The pill keeps the concentration of these hormones at a high, preventing

menstruation in addition to ovulation.

The Pill comes in many different doses and schedules, but the most common combination

pills come in 21 or 28-day packs in which the women takes 1 pill every day. The pack of pills

also contains a week’s worth of “placebo pills” that don’t contain any hormones, allowing the

woman to menstruate during the week these “placebo pills” are taken. This allows the woman to

plan when her menstrual cycle will occur, often times coming in handy when a special occasion

or vacation is coming up.

Margaret Sanger, an American women’s rights activist, was the first one to popularize the

term “birth control”. She was the founder of the first birth control clinic and also started the

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organization that served as precursor to Planned Parenthood. One of the things she strongly

believed in was that the solution to female poverty was finding a way to control family size,

which led to her passionate advocacy of birth control. In the 1950’s, Sanger teamed up with

endocrinologist Gregory Pincus and gynecologist John Rock to develop the birth control pill. In

1960, the birth control pill was approved by the FDA for contraceptive use, meeting with both

instant success from women across the United States and backlash from the Catholic church,

Senate, and some doctors.

Bailey, Martha. “MORE POWER TO THE PILL: THE IMPACT OF CONTRACEPTIVE

FREEDOM ON WOMEN’S LIFE CYCLE LABOR SUPPLY.” The Quarterly Journal of

Economics 121.1 (2006): 289–320. Web. Accessed 15 April 2019.

Martha Bailey is a professor of Economics at the University of Michigan as well as a research

professor within the Population Studies Center at the University of Michigan, and this article by

her explains the impact of the first commercial birth control pill, Enovid, on women’s

childbearing and career plans. The article describes the link between legal access to birth control

pills and the number of women in the workforce, the decrease in births before the age of 21, and

the amount of annual hours worked by women. This relates to my invention, the birth control

pill, by showcasing the way the pill has contributed to gender equality and increased freedom for

women. I will use this article to include information and statistics about the decrease in the

number of births to women younger than 21 as well as discuss the increase of women in the

workforce, with an emphasis on how the pill has given women the opportunity to think of what

they want for their future in terms of investments and career paths.

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Brooks, Krista et al. “Birth Control Pills: What You Need to Know”. National Center for

Health Research, http://www.center4research.org/birth-control-pills-need-know/. Accessed

15 April 2019.

This article, published by the National Center for Health Research, is written by 4 authors who

are all educated at the Masters level or higher. This article is a comprehensive article describing

the science behind the pill, the medical risks and safety involving the pill, and also benefits that

the pill may have. It goes into detail about how the pill works within the body as well as the

advancements in the pill over the years and how the health risks may increase depending on the

type of pill used. I will use this source mostly to discuss the medical risks involved with taking

the pill as well as the potential benefits that the pill is sometimes used for. I will also discuss the

different advancements in the pill and the safety issues with each type.

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Works Cited

Bailey, Martha. “MORE POWER TO THE PILL: THE IMPACT OF CONTRACEPTIVE

FREEDOM ON WOMEN’S LIFE CYCLE LABOR SUPPLY.” The Quarterly Journal of

Economics 121.1 (2006): 289–320. Web. Accessed 15 April 2019.

“Birth Control Pill” Planned Parenthood, www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/birth-control/birth-

control-pill. Accessed 15 April 2019.

Brooks, Krista et al. “Birth Control Pills: What You Need to Know”. National Center for Health

Research, http://www.center4research.org/birth-control-pills-need-know/. Accessed 15 April

2019.

Michals, Debra. “Margaret Sanger” National Women’s History Museum, 2017,

www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/margaret-sanger. Accessed 15 April

2019.

Nikolchev, Alexandra. “A Brief History of the Birth Control Pill” Need to Know on PBS, 7 May

2010, www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/health/a-brief-history-of-the-birth-control-pill/480/.

Accessed 15 April 2019.

Nottke, Amanda. “Taming the Cycle: How Does the Pill Work?” Harvard University, 15 March

2008, sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2008/issue40/. Accessed 15 April 2019.