Thread by @StephHerold

"The anti-choice movement has used [clinic] inspections, and the resulting reports, as a political tool to target abortion providers with false claims of unsafe practices."

Crucial reporting from @srussellkraft: rewire.news/article/2019/0…

Many state health departments find themselves in a position of “enforcing regulations passed by the legislature that don’t necessarily have a public health purpose,” - @DrSCMRoberts

Dr. Roberts has a ton of important research on this topic: (thread)

How public health departments are currently working on abortion: enforcing laws with no documented basis in public health journals.lww.com/jphmp/Fulltext…

How public health departments should approach abortion: surprise, with a public health framework! ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/full/10.21…

Laws that single out abortion for uniquely onerous regulation do *not* increase patient safety and may actually limit abortion access ansirh.org/sites/default/…

There is no evidence to suggest that requiring that abortions be performed in specific types of facilities (that meet these unnecessary standards) increases patient safety. Instead, it might decrease safety by closing clinics. ansirh.org/sites/default/…

Laws that mandate that abortions be performed in these specialized facilities do not increase the safety of abortions. ansirh.org/sites/default/…

I'm summarizing research that you really should read in depth, all available from @ANSIRH: ansirh.org/research/evide…