Chelsea Polis
@cbpolis.bsky.social
Reproductive health epidemiologist @guttmacher.org. Contraception, abortion, FemTech, HIV/STIs, infertility, global public health, & research integrity. Alum of WomenLift Health 2024. Maddox Prize awardee 2023. Anti-SLAPP law advocate. www.chelseapolis.com
Reposted by Chelsea Polis
New Guttmacher data from Adding It Up 2024 shows what it would take to meet SRH needs across 128 LMICs: 928M women want to avoid pregnancy, 214M aren’t using modern contraception, and every $1 invested saves $2.48 in health care costs. Learn more: https://gu.tt/4qVHXfc
November 4, 2025 at 5:17 PM
New Guttmacher data from Adding It Up 2024 shows what it would take to meet SRH needs across 128 LMICs: 928M women want to avoid pregnancy, 214M aren’t using modern contraception, and every $1 invested saves $2.48 in health care costs. Learn more: https://gu.tt/4qVHXfc
Reposted by Chelsea Polis
The lesson here is have good principles and stand on them. Stand for something that isn't power!
Zohran at the rally for trans youth on february 8 ❣️ he was polling single digits.
November 5, 2025 at 2:59 AM
The lesson here is have good principles and stand on them. Stand for something that isn't power!
Reposted by Chelsea Polis
The United States was the leading destination for top scientists from all over the world.
That is ending. Politicians ended it. It will cripple our future competitiveness.
And it’s such a bitter tragedy. Almost no Americans, Conservative or Liberal, grasp what is now being stolen from them.
That is ending. Politicians ended it. It will cripple our future competitiveness.
And it’s such a bitter tragedy. Almost no Americans, Conservative or Liberal, grasp what is now being stolen from them.
Top researchers consider leaving U.S. amid funding cuts: 'The science world is ending'
YouTube video by PBS NewsHour
youtu.be
November 1, 2025 at 3:44 AM
The United States was the leading destination for top scientists from all over the world.
That is ending. Politicians ended it. It will cripple our future competitiveness.
And it’s such a bitter tragedy. Almost no Americans, Conservative or Liberal, grasp what is now being stolen from them.
That is ending. Politicians ended it. It will cripple our future competitiveness.
And it’s such a bitter tragedy. Almost no Americans, Conservative or Liberal, grasp what is now being stolen from them.
Reposted by Chelsea Polis
TrumpCare
Sticker shock for ACA recipients:
Clint and Cindy Kittrell, Oregon: $305/month --> $2,500/month.
Chad and Tara Smith, Idaho: $710/month --> $1,000/month.
Jessica Bunger, Florida: New premiums quadruple to $1,100/month. "I’ve never felt so powerless in my life"
www.wsj.com/health/healt...
Clint and Cindy Kittrell, Oregon: $305/month --> $2,500/month.
Chad and Tara Smith, Idaho: $710/month --> $1,000/month.
Jessica Bunger, Florida: New premiums quadruple to $1,100/month. "I’ve never felt so powerless in my life"
www.wsj.com/health/healt...
Americans Are Getting a Look at Next Year’s ACA Premiums and Many Don’t Like It
Many Affordable Care Act enrollees could pay hundreds of dollars more if they stick with their health plans.
www.wsj.com
October 29, 2025 at 12:45 AM
TrumpCare
Reposted by Chelsea Polis
Americans are on the verge of losing their ability to choose their government. But they don't seem to have realized it yet.
Donald Trumps plan to subvert the midterms is underway
From David Graham, on the cover of the next edition of @theatlantic.com
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
From David Graham, on the cover of the next edition of @theatlantic.com
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
Donald Trump’s Plan to Subvert the Midterms Is Already Under Way
Our election system is reaching a breaking point.
www.theatlantic.com
October 28, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Americans are on the verge of losing their ability to choose their government. But they don't seem to have realized it yet.
Reposted by Chelsea Polis
This is so exciting! The German National Library of Medicine @zbmed.bsky.social just had its first open meeting on the plan for an open & independent PubMed safety net. Here's my write-up @plos.org on the meeting & how institutions & others can help absolutelymaybe.plos.org/2025/05/14/g...
#MedLibs
#MedLibs
Germany's Plan for an Open and Independent PubMed Safety Net - Absolutely Maybe
A few months ago, I wrote about reasons to be concerned about the reliability of PubMed under the new regime at the…
absolutelymaybe.plos.org
May 14, 2025 at 3:41 PM
This is so exciting! The German National Library of Medicine @zbmed.bsky.social just had its first open meeting on the plan for an open & independent PubMed safety net. Here's my write-up @plos.org on the meeting & how institutions & others can help absolutelymaybe.plos.org/2025/05/14/g...
#MedLibs
#MedLibs
Reposted by Chelsea Polis
Part of politics is encouraging people to care, to give them reasons why they should care, to activate and sharpen misgivings they likely have about this brazenly authoritarian act of destruction, to help provide a vocabulary that explains that unease.
do you think normies care about the East Wing being demolished?
October 23, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Part of politics is encouraging people to care, to give them reasons why they should care, to activate and sharpen misgivings they likely have about this brazenly authoritarian act of destruction, to help provide a vocabulary that explains that unease.
Reposted by Chelsea Polis
We're going to do <less> w/ less at R1 universities, unless federal funding is restored, & the sooner R1 chancellors/presidents get in front of microphones & loudly, collectively start telling people that's the case, the better. The lack of doing this & not shaping the political debate is maddening.
As @neillewisjr.bsky.social said (bsky.app/profile/neil...), this is not sustainable, & we will have to do less. Academia is already rife with unpaid labor.
Again, the same courses/labs/degree programs simply will not exist, & the quality of what's left will decline. You can't have it without $.
Again, the same courses/labs/degree programs simply will not exist, & the quality of what's left will decline. You can't have it without $.
And, if you work in higher education and your department somehow survives this, you will be expected to do as much or more with much less
October 21, 2025 at 6:05 PM
We're going to do <less> w/ less at R1 universities, unless federal funding is restored, & the sooner R1 chancellors/presidents get in front of microphones & loudly, collectively start telling people that's the case, the better. The lack of doing this & not shaping the political debate is maddening.
Reposted by Chelsea Polis
"An AP investigation found that the wave of legislation has cropped up in most states, pushed by people with close ties to HHS Secretary RFK, Jr. The effort would strip away protections that have been built over a century and are integral to American lives and society."
Anti-science bills hit statehouses, stripping away public health protections built over a century
More than 420 anti-science bills attacking longstanding public health protections – vaccines, milk safety and fluoride – have been introduced in statehouses across the U.S. this year.
apnews.com
October 21, 2025 at 3:34 PM
"An AP investigation found that the wave of legislation has cropped up in most states, pushed by people with close ties to HHS Secretary RFK, Jr. The effort would strip away protections that have been built over a century and are integral to American lives and society."
Reposted by Chelsea Polis
Head to a protest today. I can almost promise you will feel less hopeless. That's exactly what they don't want. There are more of us than there are of them.
October 18, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Head to a protest today. I can almost promise you will feel less hopeless. That's exactly what they don't want. There are more of us than there are of them.
Reposted by Chelsea Polis
Public health should never be politicized.
In the wake of the federal government abandoning science for conspiracy theories, it's up to governors to step up.
Proud to join my colleagues in the Governors Public Health Alliance to keep communities safe and put our people first.
In the wake of the federal government abandoning science for conspiracy theories, it's up to governors to step up.
Proud to join my colleagues in the Governors Public Health Alliance to keep communities safe and put our people first.
October 15, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Public health should never be politicized.
In the wake of the federal government abandoning science for conspiracy theories, it's up to governors to step up.
Proud to join my colleagues in the Governors Public Health Alliance to keep communities safe and put our people first.
In the wake of the federal government abandoning science for conspiracy theories, it's up to governors to step up.
Proud to join my colleagues in the Governors Public Health Alliance to keep communities safe and put our people first.
Reposted by Chelsea Polis
Today my @nytimes.com colleagues and I are launching a new series called Lost Science. We interview US scientists who can no longer discover something new about our world, thanks to this year‘s cuts. Here is my first interview with a scientist who studied bees and fires. Gift link: nyti.ms/3IWXbiE
nyti.ms
October 8, 2025 at 11:29 PM
Today my @nytimes.com colleagues and I are launching a new series called Lost Science. We interview US scientists who can no longer discover something new about our world, thanks to this year‘s cuts. Here is my first interview with a scientist who studied bees and fires. Gift link: nyti.ms/3IWXbiE
Reposted by Chelsea Polis
marrazzo is one of the most respected and accomplished physician scientists/public health experts in the world
“In her complaint, the scientist, Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, who had directed the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, objected to Trump administration actions, alleging that they had endangered research subjects, defied court orders and undermined vaccine research.”
Kennedy Fires N.I.H. Scientist Who Filed Whistle-Blower Complaint
www.nytimes.com
October 3, 2025 at 2:36 AM
marrazzo is one of the most respected and accomplished physician scientists/public health experts in the world
I'm worried about this too, including given where our world appears to be headed with (over)reliance on AI (picture me: a frustrated old, yelling at the sky in futility), and what that means about what kinds of information gets sucked up into AI output vs. what gets excluded/ignored.
In general I think it's hard to combat scientific misinformation when some of the best research is locked behind an academic paywall, while lots of nonsense gets published free for everyone to read in predatory journals.
September 29, 2025 at 6:52 PM
I'm worried about this too, including given where our world appears to be headed with (over)reliance on AI (picture me: a frustrated old, yelling at the sky in futility), and what that means about what kinds of information gets sucked up into AI output vs. what gets excluded/ignored.
On #InternationalSafeAbortionDay, and as attacks escalate and mis/dis-information spreads, a reminder: this starter pack can help get you started in finding some excellent Bluesky accounts sharing data & information on sexual and reproductive health.
go.bsky.app/6WuJVjj
go.bsky.app/6WuJVjj
September 28, 2025 at 2:54 PM
On #InternationalSafeAbortionDay, and as attacks escalate and mis/dis-information spreads, a reminder: this starter pack can help get you started in finding some excellent Bluesky accounts sharing data & information on sexual and reproductive health.
go.bsky.app/6WuJVjj
go.bsky.app/6WuJVjj
"As medical care evaporates, it is moms who die in childbirth. As food disappears and babies cry from hunger, some overwhelmed husbands abandon their wives and children. As social order unravels, it is mostly girls who are raped, & then scorned for having been raped."
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/27/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/27/o...
Opinion | The Tax on Being a Girl
www.nytimes.com
September 27, 2025 at 1:05 PM
"As medical care evaporates, it is moms who die in childbirth. As food disappears and babies cry from hunger, some overwhelmed husbands abandon their wives and children. As social order unravels, it is mostly girls who are raped, & then scorned for having been raped."
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/27/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/27/o...
Misleading info seems rampant, including about sexual & reproductive health. I’ve seen it up close: www.theguardian.com/science/2023...
Many of us have devoted our lives to sharing evidence-based info about contraception & more - because we respect you.
We won't stop.
Happy #WorldContraceptionDay
Many of us have devoted our lives to sharing evidence-based info about contraception & more - because we respect you.
We won't stop.
Happy #WorldContraceptionDay
September 26, 2025 at 12:34 PM
Misleading info seems rampant, including about sexual & reproductive health. I’ve seen it up close: www.theguardian.com/science/2023...
Many of us have devoted our lives to sharing evidence-based info about contraception & more - because we respect you.
We won't stop.
Happy #WorldContraceptionDay
Many of us have devoted our lives to sharing evidence-based info about contraception & more - because we respect you.
We won't stop.
Happy #WorldContraceptionDay
Reposted by Chelsea Polis
Another reminder that people around the world risk their lives for liberties that many Americans seem ready to surrender without a fight or even a lawsuit. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/22/b...
September 22, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Another reminder that people around the world risk their lives for liberties that many Americans seem ready to surrender without a fight or even a lawsuit. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/22/b...
Rest in peace, Dr. Rennie. Thank you for responding so generously, kindly, & wisely when I was an over-eager, ECR who cold emailed you a tome expressing frustration at some aspects of scientific publishing. Your open, collaborative, encouraging response & our exchanges left such a warm impression.
Editorial: "Remembering Drummond Rennie—Champion of Integrity in Science and Scientific Publication."
ja.ma/3KvjOuX
ja.ma/3KvjOuX
September 20, 2025 at 12:22 PM
Rest in peace, Dr. Rennie. Thank you for responding so generously, kindly, & wisely when I was an over-eager, ECR who cold emailed you a tome expressing frustration at some aspects of scientific publishing. Your open, collaborative, encouraging response & our exchanges left such a warm impression.
Reposted by Chelsea Polis
Listening to ACIP meeting which is a catastrophe, as predicted. I’d like emphasize in all this that the CDC subject matter experts and leads have been tremendous and continue to represent good science on our behalf. I am very grateful for their dedication, despite internal and external pressure.
September 19, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Listening to ACIP meeting which is a catastrophe, as predicted. I’d like emphasize in all this that the CDC subject matter experts and leads have been tremendous and continue to represent good science on our behalf. I am very grateful for their dedication, despite internal and external pressure.
Reposted by Chelsea Polis
Astounding.
LaQuan McDonald
Mike Brown
Eric Garner
John Crawford III
Walter Scott
Philando Castile
All were shot on video. They looped the videos on social media. We saw their bodies on camera.
What about the emotional toll on Black folks repeatedly seeing us killed? No concerns?
LaQuan McDonald
Mike Brown
Eric Garner
John Crawford III
Walter Scott
Philando Castile
All were shot on video. They looped the videos on social media. We saw their bodies on camera.
What about the emotional toll on Black folks repeatedly seeing us killed? No concerns?
Graphic videos of the Charlie Kirk shooting spread widely online, raising concerns over the emotional and political toll of exposure to violent imagery.
Kirk shooting videos spread online, even to viewers who didn't want to see them
Graphic videos of the Charlie Kirk shooting spread widely online, raising concerns over the emotional and political toll of exposure to violent imagery.
n.pr
September 18, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Astounding.
LaQuan McDonald
Mike Brown
Eric Garner
John Crawford III
Walter Scott
Philando Castile
All were shot on video. They looped the videos on social media. We saw their bodies on camera.
What about the emotional toll on Black folks repeatedly seeing us killed? No concerns?
LaQuan McDonald
Mike Brown
Eric Garner
John Crawford III
Walter Scott
Philando Castile
All were shot on video. They looped the videos on social media. We saw their bodies on camera.
What about the emotional toll on Black folks repeatedly seeing us killed? No concerns?
Reposted by Chelsea Polis
A free and democratic society cannot silence comedians because the President doesn’t like what they say.
This is an attack on free speech and cannot be allowed to stand.
All elected officials need to speak up and push back on this undemocratic act.
This is an attack on free speech and cannot be allowed to stand.
All elected officials need to speak up and push back on this undemocratic act.
September 17, 2025 at 11:22 PM
A free and democratic society cannot silence comedians because the President doesn’t like what they say.
This is an attack on free speech and cannot be allowed to stand.
All elected officials need to speak up and push back on this undemocratic act.
This is an attack on free speech and cannot be allowed to stand.
All elected officials need to speak up and push back on this undemocratic act.
Reposted by Chelsea Polis
The Trump admin is determined to destroy nearly $10M in contraceptives. We join 77 orgs calling on Secretary of State Marco Rubio to stop this harmful plan.
The IUDs, pills, injectables & implants could help more than 1.5M women & couples. The US must reverse this order immediately.
gu.tt/46kjPJK
The IUDs, pills, injectables & implants could help more than 1.5M women & couples. The US must reverse this order immediately.
gu.tt/46kjPJK
gu.tt
September 12, 2025 at 8:35 PM
The Trump admin is determined to destroy nearly $10M in contraceptives. We join 77 orgs calling on Secretary of State Marco Rubio to stop this harmful plan.
The IUDs, pills, injectables & implants could help more than 1.5M women & couples. The US must reverse this order immediately.
gu.tt/46kjPJK
The IUDs, pills, injectables & implants could help more than 1.5M women & couples. The US must reverse this order immediately.
gu.tt/46kjPJK
Incompetence leads to chaos and confusion.
Let's hope these life-saving contraceptive supplies have not been incinerated.
Let's hope these life-saving contraceptive supplies have not been incinerated.
Update: After the spokeswoman for USAID said on Thursday that millions of dollars’ worth of birth control pills and other contraceptives had been destroyed under orders from the Trump administration, the authorities in Belgium said they had checked the stockpile on Friday and it was still in place.
Belgian Authorities Say $10 Million Supply of Birth Control Has Not Yet Been Destroyed
www.nytimes.com
September 12, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Incompetence leads to chaos and confusion.
Let's hope these life-saving contraceptive supplies have not been incinerated.
Let's hope these life-saving contraceptive supplies have not been incinerated.
Deeply cruel and enormously wasteful. About 1.5 million women & couples could have used these supplies to avoid unintended pregnancy.
Instead, at taxpayer expense, the Trump administration incinerated nearly $10M worth of contraceptive supplies, despite offers from multiple orgs to distribute.
Instead, at taxpayer expense, the Trump administration incinerated nearly $10M worth of contraceptive supplies, despite offers from multiple orgs to distribute.
Millions of dollars worth of contraceptives destined for low-income countries were destroyed at the direction of the Trump administration.
$10 Million in Contraceptives Have Been Destroyed on Orders From Trump Officials
The birth control pills, IUDs and hormonal implants were purchased by U.S.A.I.D. for women in low-income countries. They had been in limbo in a Belgian warehouse after the U.S. cut much of its foreign aid.
nyti.ms
September 12, 2025 at 12:43 AM
Deeply cruel and enormously wasteful. About 1.5 million women & couples could have used these supplies to avoid unintended pregnancy.
Instead, at taxpayer expense, the Trump administration incinerated nearly $10M worth of contraceptive supplies, despite offers from multiple orgs to distribute.
Instead, at taxpayer expense, the Trump administration incinerated nearly $10M worth of contraceptive supplies, despite offers from multiple orgs to distribute.