Thread by @gbosslet

On Tuesday I will be joining @heidiforindiana to discuss what the abortion ban what this means for medicine and Hoosiers

A year ago I would not have done this- being public about politics was verboten

I quick 🧵 on how that changed for me

bit.ly/3pReDYS

1/14

If you want to hear me bloviate about this with @ETSshow, you can listen to us chat about much of the content of this thread here

https://twitter.com/ETSshow/status/1561820749031038981?s=20&t=hCWwioXx91zCp9fbWLceHg

2/14

Anyone who is on the bird app a lot has noticed over the last 6-12 months that my tweets have become more and more about politics

I realized during the pandemic that the Indiana Statehouse was generally opposed to real science and public health

I got mad

3/14

The pandemic sucked

In 2020 I saw a lot of people die of COVID-19

In 2021 I saw a lot of people die of the Coronavirus, but IMO the actual cause of death was disinformation- much of it was propagated by elected leaders

This made me mad
4/14

During the worst surge in December 2021, Indiana lawmakers proposed HB 1001; it would have made it illegal for businesses to require vaccination of their employees

This bill sent the opposite message than was needed

More people would die

My anger grew

5/14

I went to the statehouse and testified before a hostile room of folks who either don't understand vaccines or just don't care about the social contract

(I am not necessarily referring to the lawmakers here, more the other folks there to testify)

6/14

https://twitter.com/gbosslet/status/1471996267983216644?s=20&t=hCWwioXx91zCp9fbWLceHg

Then they passed HB 1296- this bill allows guns to be carried in public without a permit

Coupled with background check loopholes, this means anyone can carry a gun in Indiana without going through essentially any checks

Most Hoosiers (and Americans) don't agree with this

7/14

HB 1296 became law shortly after the Uvalde and Buffalo mass shootings

There is a clear scientific association between gun safety legislation and gun violence/gun deaths at the state level

HB 1296 is a law that will lead to Hoosier deaths

jamanetwork.com/journals/jamai…

8/14

Then Indiana passed SEA1, the first abortion ban in the US to be proposed and passed after the #Dobbs decision

It made abortions essentially illegal in the state, with a few narrow exceptions

The majority didn't agree with this- doctors are pissed

npr.org/sections/healt…

9/14

These three things:

vaccine policy HB 1001
gun safety issues HB 1296
reproductive freedom SEA 1

all directly affect the work we are called to do in the hospital

and they are all directly controlled at the level of the statehouse

10/14

And they are all terribly unpopular- in a state which is conservative, none of these policies have majority citizen support

But because Indiana is so gerrymandered, laws like this are passed

@DavidPepper

11/14

https://twitter.com/gbosslet/status/1485585383689760773?s=20&t=V_O9Xih2sZUgO6Ror6V0yg

The fact is

Public health policy= science + values

Speaking out publicly about civic matters is uncomfortable but needed by those of us who value science-minded policy

I’ll be more blunt- I think physicians have a duty to become civically engaged in some fashion

12/14

Here is a list of things I think physicians can do to become more involved

You decide how much time or $$ you are able to give

Or join an advocacy group like @GoodTroubleIN (need not be in healthcare)

But doing nothing means this ridiculousness continues

13/14

Doing a live event with a politician on health policy is not something I would have done before the pandemic

And it still is uncomfortable

But it is important

Come check it out Tuesday or DM me if you want to chat about how you can be helpful

14/14
bit.ly/3pReDYS