Report: Group Recruits Hobby Pilots to Fly Women Out of Pro-Life States for Abortions

A pro-abortion group that formed soon after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year is recruiting volunteer hobby pilots to fly women out of states with pro-life laws to get abortions, according to KMUW, an NPR affiliate. 

The Illinois-based group, called Elevated Access, states on its website that pilots with their group “anonymously transport[s] patients, providers, and support staff where they need to go” at no cost to access “abortion and gender-affirming care.”

According to the group, which says it is a 501(c)3 charitable non-profit:

We believe in bodily autonomy and the freedom to make private health care decisions without government intervention.  As not everyone can receive the care they need in their communities, we started Elevated Access to make healthcare more accessible and equitable.

KMUW noted that the organization “operates with degrees of secrecy because its work falls into gray legal territory.” Pilots use their own planes and often cover fuel costs “because private pilots can’t legally be compensated for flying,” according to the report. 

“There are tons of little airports like this dotted all over,” a hobby pilot named “Michael” who works with the group told the NPR affiliate. “I try to avoid the big airports. Usually, we fly into one that’s closer to where they live.”

Michael, who also volunteers for an animal rescue group, said he recently flew a woman back to the Deep South after an abortion appointment at a Kansas clinic. 

“It’s maybe not the best time in a particular person’s life, or they’re going through a sensitive thing,” he said. “So I treat that with a lot of reverence.”

The NPR affiliate called the organization’s ability to have pilots fly women, sometimes several states away and on short notice, “game-changing.” The flights are also “virtually anonymous,” and pilots only know the passengers’ first name and weight (for small aircraft safety purposes),” the report states. 

“We don’t check ID because that’s not part of private aviation. There’s no ticketing or TSA or anything like that,” said Mike (not to be confused with Michael), the founder of Elevated Access. “If somebody feels like they need to use a fake first name, they can definitely do that.”

According to the report, volunteer pilots are told not to ask passengers their reasons for flying, which partly intended “to give plausible deniability in the face of potential legal threats.” 

Mike said he got the idea for the organization from volunteering with a group called Midwest Access Coalition, which helps people coordinate and pay for abortion-related travel. Alison Dreith, the group’s director of strategic partnerships, said she has connected several clients with Elevated Access, telling KMUW that the flights are especially helpful for people who do not have the documents they need to fly commercially, like domestic violence victims and undocumented immigrants.

Mike told the outlet Elevated Access has already completed “dozens and dozens” of flights, and that the group is growing quickly, although he said he did not wish to share full numbers for fear of being targeted. More than 200 pilots have allegedly been vetted and more than 1,000 have reached out, according to the report.