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

We have spent over a year fighting back against this administration’s destructive policies, but that’s not enough. We are excited to announce our new platform for Public Health Week: The People's Health Platform! The 1st pillar: Guarantee Healthcare for All www.defendpublichealth.org/resource/peoples-health-platform-0
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Peter Baker @peterbakernyt.bsky.social
6d
After Trump took office last year, the US Holocaust Museum quietly removed educational material about American racism from its website and canceled a workshop on the "fragility of democracy," @iriesentner.bsky.social reports. www.politico.com/news/2026/04/05/trump-holocaust-museum-00859274
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Nina Schwalbe, MPH, PhD @nschwalbe.bsky.social
8d
I’m running for Congress in my home, New York’s 12th Congressional District, because the federal government is destroying the very systems that keep people safe. Our rights and guardrails of democracy are at risk. We need people who will deliver results.

That's what I'll do: ninafornyc.com
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Anna Gifty @itsafronomics.blacksky.app
10d
I can't believe Katherine Johnson used to do these sorts of calculations and simulations BY HAND. I'm flabbergasted.
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Indivisible ❌👑 @indivisible.org
14d
Over eight million Americans took to the streets today, which makes No Kings 3 the biggest single day of protest in the history of our country. #NoKings
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Undark Magazine @undark.org
16d
Federal agencies have been labeling some research "gold standard science" — a trend that accelerated after a May 2025 executive order. Researcher Jonathan P. Scaccia argues the branding distorts how evidence actually works.
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Guttmacher @guttmacher.org
16d
Fertility awareness-based methods (FABMs) are important options within the full spectrum of #ReproductiveHealth care. By grounding FABMs in evidence and reproductive justice, we can strengthen the fight to ensure access to care for all.

Read more from @cbpolis.bsky.social: gu.tt/4aO6QDX
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Michael Clemens @mclem.org
17d
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I feel so lucky to have been in school with so many brilliant international students. The son of a Ugandan mango farmer helped me survive statistics class, & the varied perspectives I was exposed to enriched my science immeasurably. This is truly our (the US's) loss.
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social
22d
I'm reminded of these wise words from Mr. Fred Rogers on what would have been his 98th birthday. We are all in this together. Let's renew ourselves to the fight for the common good. It's all the more important during these difficult times.
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ProPublica @propublica.org
22d
THREAD: Cherise Doyley was in her 12th hour of contractions at the hospital when a tablet was brought to her bedside.

On the screen was a Zoom call with a judge and several lawyers and doctors.

She was in court, a nurse told her. The reason? For failing to agree to a C-section.
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NPR @npr.org
23d
Harerimana Ismail of Uganda is a community health worker who checks on kids with HIV. He lost his salary after the Trump administration's aid cuts but he keeps doing his job. n.pr/3PPoNJy
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Climate Science Legal Defense Fund @csldf.org
29d
Our mission is to protect the scientific endeavor by defending scientists against political or ideological attacks - no matter who is behind them.

If you are a researcher with legal questions related to your work, please reach out: 646-801-0853 (phone or Signal) or email lawyer@csldf.org
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Climate Science Legal Defense Fund @csldf.org
1mo
With so much uncertainty and fear in the air, one thing is certain - we are ALWAYS here to protect & defend researchers against abuse, harassment, unlawful firings, & other attempts to silence their critical work. Help us help them: www.csldf.org/donate
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Kendall Powell @kendallsciwrite.bsky.social
1mo
For International Women's Day on 8 March this weekend, @nature.com's Careers team presents award-winning women scientists and the women who inspired them. If you need some feel-good news these days or pro tips for mentoring in your own science career, dive in!

www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-00666-x
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Jennie Wetter @jennieindc.bsky.social
1mo
🚨 New Episode 🚨

This week on @reprosfightback.bsky.social I talk to the amazing @cbpolis.bsky.social at @guttmacher.org on why fertility awareness-based methods of family planning must be grounded in evidence and reproductive justice. It was a great conversation and I learned a lot. #podcast
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rePROs Fight Back @reprosfightback.bsky.social
1mo
This week, Chelsea Polis, Principal Research Scientist @guttmacher.org, talks with us about different fertility awareness-based methods, their effectiveness, advantages and disadvantages, & why each method must be grounded in scientific evidence and oriented within a reproductive justice framework:
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Whew.

Apropos of absolutely nothing, here is a slide from a talk I delivered yesterday on addressing mis- and disinformation in the published scientific literature.

Wakefield's paper, of course, had been published in the Lancet, where Richard Horton was, and remains, Editor in Chief.
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Guttmacher @guttmacher.org
1mo
Guttmacher Principal Research Scientist Chelsea Polis co-edited a special issue of Contraception and co-authored the accompanying editorial examining the rapid rise of FemTech in sexual and reproductive health, including its promise and risks.

Find the editorial on our website: gu.tt/3MQIorK
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Nick Kristof @nickkristof.bsky.social
1mo
US immigration officials picked up a blind Rohingya refugee last week in Buffalo, NY. Then, realizing they had no basis to deport him, they released him five miles from his home. He needed a walking stick and died trying to make his way back to his house: www.investigativepost.org/2026/02/25/blind-refugee-abandoned-by-border-patrol-is-dead/
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HUGE thanks to my fellow guest editors Rebecca Simmons, Patty Cason, & Angel Foster, to Carolyn Westhoff (Contraception’s Editor Emerita) & Blair Darney (current EIC) for support, every researcher who submitted work, and every peer reviewer who willingly donated their time and expertise!

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This special issue isn’t anti-tech. It’s about ensuring that innovation serves people’s needs, not just market incentives.

The path forward requires collaboration across technology and health, rigorous evaluation, and an unwavering focus on reproductive health, rights, & justice.

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Vast majority of special issue submissions came from high-income contexts.

Despite FemTech collecting data from millions daily, only ~50% of submissions included empirical data.

FDA recently signaled it may relax regulation of health tech, but we need stronger (not weaker!) safeguards.

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A small taste of some findings:
- In the US, period tracker use increased post-Dobbs, despite privacy warnings.
- Technologies designed to empower users can also create risks for fairness, autonomy, and accountability.
- Equity-centered research agendas are essential.

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In brief, FemTech in SRH offers promise & excitement, but also seems like a high-stakes experiment unfolding in real time, without adequate safeguards. Privacy protections (even GDPR) fall short for sensitive reproductive data, and regulatory frameworks are fragmented across jurisdictions.

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FemTech emerged in a space where women’s health has been underfunded and under-researched. These technologies hold real potential, but many also present serious concerns around evidence, regulation, privacy, and equity.

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The full special issue is at this link: www.contraceptionjournal.org/content/femtech.

Our summary editorial tying the issue together is free to read at this link until April 5: authors.elsevier.com/a/1mcPB2Svwg%7EkG.

Please help share!

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After 2 years of work, our special issue in @contraceptionjl.bsky.social on "Emergency of FemTech in the SRH Landscape" is out!

It includes 14 papers on fertility tracking, contraception, and abortion in the digital age, plus our summary Editorial.

A 🧵on what we found; please help us share!

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Guttmacher @guttmacher.org
2mo
This is the US exerting control over what the rest of the world can do.

On the SRHM Podcast, Elizabeth Sully & Amy Friedrich-Karnik unpack what the expanded #GlobalGagRule means for UN agencies and global organizations.

Listen here: gu.tt/4quN7gE
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Mike Hixenbaugh @mikehixenbaugh.com
2mo
On Thanksgiving, the immigrant children held at the Dilley detention center gathered in the gym for what they thought was a holiday feast.

The kids salivated over a spread of turkey, sandwiches, pastries and pies, a family told me.

But the food wasn’t for detainees — it was for the staff.
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