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Chelsea Polis

@cbpolis.bsky.social

10K followers 2.9K following 395 posts

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

Posts Replies Media

Chelsea Polis @cbpolis.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Hi! It's a very common misconception that "fertility awareness-based methods" means the same thing as "rhythm method" - but it doesn't! This excerpt from my piece in @healthaffairs.bsky.social summarizes data on FABM effectiveness from our systematic review (www.healthaffairs.org/content/fore...).

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Chelsea Polis @cbpolis.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

Dr. Yaver, I’m literally curled up in bed for Mother’s Day reading your amazing book. Thank you for writing it! 💐 Let’s chat about FABMs - a nuanced topic, especially these days. A few thoughts here: www.healthaffairs.org/content/fore... and here: www.reprosfightback.com/episodes-blo...

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Chelsea Polis @cbpolis.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

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.

Slide notes the importance of protecting scientific integrity to protect people, and also notes that it took 12 years to retract Wakefield's paper [in Lancet] on vaccines and autism, and may cause (potentially irreversible harm in the interim).

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Chelsea Polis @cbpolis.bsky.social · 13/12/2025

Yep. Every day a fresh horror. www.nbcnews.com/health/kids-... Here's a hard-hitting except from that piece:

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Chelsea Polis @cbpolis.bsky.social · 13/12/2025

Here's the email:

A few weeks ago, we sadly cancelled a reservation we had at your hotel for this Dec. We were very much looking forward to our trip, having had a truly wonderful time at your hotel last year. We wish to explain why we cancelled, as it was not a decision we made lightly.

Unfortunately, recent actions by Florida’s leadership have compelled us to withdraw our support - for now - of any business operating in a state where public health protections are so clearly in jeopardy. According to recent reporting (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/03/florida-vaccine-mandate), Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo has publicly pushed to eliminate vaccine mandates in FL, describing mandates as akin to “slavery”. While the state seems to be walking back some aspects of that sweeping proposal, and it is unclear how far or fast the rollback will go, the very fact that this is on the table is deeply disturbing.

Vaccine mandates are not about infringing on personal freedoms. Rather, they are essential tools for protecting the most vulnerable members of society, preventing outbreaks, and ensuring that individual choices do not endanger entire communities.

We had greatly looked forward to our stay at X, but cannot in good conscience support travel to, or patronize business in, a state where such fundamental public health safeguards are at risk of being undermined. Removing vaccination mandates would disregard the well-being of FL residents, workers at your hotel, and visitors to your hotel. The presence of uncertainty, the potential for harm, and the message sent by such policy shifts are unacceptable to those of us who care about public health. We hope FL businesses, including yours, are active in voicing opposition to Ladapo's statements and also active in asking for higher standards of public health safety and responsibility. We genuinely love your hotel and would be thrilled to be able to return to your property in the future, when we feel safer and more justified in doing so.

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Chelsea Polis @cbpolis.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

Our paper "Contraceptive effectiveness: A synthesis of the literature" is freely available thru 1/9/26 lnkd.in/e5j-4pXw In choosing contraception, method effectiveness is often a primary consideration though rarely the only one. Ppl deserve accurate info (incl on effectiveness) for informed choice.

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Chelsea Polis @cbpolis.bsky.social · 14/08/2025

Heartbreaking. 💔 Please read the statement and don’t miss the quote by the dissenting judge. Thank you for your noble and righteous efforts, @avac.org.

Excerpt from AVAC statement, quoting the dissenting judge, which reads: “The dissenting judge, Florence Pan, stated clearly what is at stake: “Today, a President defies laws enacted by Congress without any legal basis, and the court holds that he has merely violated a statute, that the Constitution is not even implicated, and that there is no judicially enforceable cause of action to challenge his conduct. By failing to rein in a President who ran roughshod over clear statutory mandates, the court evades its constitutional responsibility to delineate the obligations and powers of each branch of our government… At bottom, the court’s acquiescence in and facilitation of the Executive’s unlawful behavior derails the ‘carefully crafted system of checked and balanced power’ that serves as the ‘greatest security against tyranny—the accumulation of excessive authority in a single Branch.”

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Chelsea Polis @cbpolis.bsky.social · 13/08/2025

And...chef's kiss 🤌 on the footnote, @defendpublichealth.bsky.social and @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social. 👏👏👏 #IHATnotMAHA

Excerpt from article in The Guardian, which states: "The first MAHA report “contains misinformation and uses references that don’t even exist”, she [Dr. Elizabeth Jacobs] noted. The Defend Public Health report has a tongue-in-cheek note that it was “created by real human experts relying on real rigorous data”."

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Chelsea Polis @cbpolis.bsky.social · 17/03/2025

Looking forward to participating in this @stmassoc.bsky.social session in April "Beyond fabricated research articles: questionable research practices and their consequences over time" with Adya Misra, Rachel Safer, and @mumumouse2.bsky.social.

An advertisement for a session at the STM conference in Washington on April 2-3 entitled "Beyond fabricated research articles: questionable research practices and their consequences over time".

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Chelsea Polis @cbpolis.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

Thank you for coming out today to #StandUpForScience, NYC! @standupforscience.bsky.social

Two participants of the Stand up for Science rally in NYC hold signs. One reads: "Health Alert: Vaccinations Good. Bleach Bad." Another reads "Elon, get a math tutor".

Person at the Stand up for Science NYC rally holds a sign saying "Grab 'em by the hypotheses".

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Chelsea Polis @cbpolis.bsky.social · 13/02/2025

I really don't understand why Natsios explicitly excluded family planning programming from those programs he called "life-saving" in his statements today, especially when he's made statements like these in the past. www.congress.gov/116/meeting/...

Excerpt from Andrew Natsios testimony in 2019 explaining how USAID's voluntary family planning programming protect and improve maternal and child health.

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Chelsea Polis @cbpolis.bsky.social · 13/02/2025

The above is the short term ask. They also include this longer term ask, regarding the funding for continuation of these surveys. Full preprint here, shared with gratitude to the authors. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Excerpt from "When Health Data Go Dark: A Call to Restore DHS Program Funding"

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Chelsea Polis @cbpolis.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

I feel a strong moral obligation to speak up about my story, since I was gifted with the MIRACLE of pro-bono representation by the amazing Dori Hanswirth & her awesome team at Arnold & Porter. Others in more precarious situations facing SLAPPs feel less safe speaking out. It keeps me up at night!

Excerpt from this article about how I got pro bono help, and what may happen to those without the supports I had: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/nov/26/dr-chelsea-polis-valley-electronics-daysy-john-maddox-prize-interview

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Chelsea Polis @cbpolis.bsky.social · 18/10/2024

Thanks for doing this! I’m getting an error when I click - maybe just me?

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