Elevated Access

Elevated Access

Elevated Access offers free flights to women who want out-of-state abortions, and for those who want "gender-affirming care". Elevated Access is "an Illinois-based group that operates with degrees of secrecy because its work falls into gray legal territory".

It was founded by Mike Bonanza. Alison Dreith is "director of strategic partnerships". In June, 2022, it was reported that "The executive director of Elevated Access said he has been working on the nonprofit’s concept for over a year with leaders of the Chicago-based organization Midwest Access Coalition, which provides patients traveling for abortion care with lodging, transportation, meals, rides to clinics and other logistical support.

About

Excerpt from the Elevated Access website:

"Elevated Access launched in April 2022. We are a volunteer pilot network that flies people in private aircraft at no cost to access abortion and gender-affirming care.

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.

Elevated Access anonymously transports patients, providers, and support staff where they need to go. Our volunteer pilots are fully vetted and generously donate their time, skills, and aircraft. We can fly into 3000 airports around the country, and 90% of the US population lives within a thirty-minute drive of these regional airports.

We only accept passenger referrals from organizations such as practical support organizations, funders, and healthcare providers..."

Midwest Access Coalition

In June, 2022, it was reported that "The executive director of Elevated Access said he has been working on the nonprofit’s concept for over a year with leaders of the Chicago-based organization Midwest Access Coalition, which provides patients traveling for abortion care with lodging, transportation, meals, rides to clinics and other logistical support."

Excerpt from article regarding Elevated Access:

In early June, the nonprofit flew its first abortion patient from Oklahoma to the Kansas City area, enabling the passenger to terminate a pregnancy in Kansas, the organization’s executive director said.

[...]

"“While voting and giving money are important to try and stop this backslide of people’s rights in this country, doing something directly to try and help people get out of that burden is very important to me,” said the nonprofit’s executive director, who asked to remain anonymous for his safety, citing the heightened threat of violence surrounding reproductive rights.

The charity recruits licensed pilots with access to light aircraft, who volunteer their time and planes to fly patients heading to abortion clinics — trips that increasingly require long-distance travel, often across state lines.

"The executive director of Elevated Access said he has been working on the nonprofit’s concept for over a year with leaders of the Chicago-based organization Midwest Access Coalition, which provides patients traveling for abortion care with lodging, transportation, meals, rides to clinics and other logistical support.

"Alison Dreith of Midwest Access Coalition described the new transportation model as a potential game changer for some traveling patients, especially with the demise of Roe.

[...]

"The new nonprofit works with established abortion networks to connect with patients, according to the website.

[...]

"“At most small airports, there is a small office where you can wait for the pilot if they are not already there to greet you,” the website says, in a section with information for passengers. “If anyone asks what you are doing, you tell them that you’re meeting someone for a flight. You don’t need to tell them anything more than that. There is no security to scan your baggage or requirement to show any identification.”

"Elevated Access also provides flights for patients seeking gender-affirming health care, another area of medicine that more states are increasingly restricting or threatening to curb.

Legal Issues

"Michael" a volunteer pilot with Elevated Access

Elevated Access offers free flights to women who want out-of-state abortions, and for those who want "gender-affirming care".

Elevated Access is "an Illinois-based group that operates with degrees of secrecy because its work falls into gray legal territory".

"Pilots are instructed not to ask passengers why they’re traveling. That relieves passengers of any pressure to explain or justify the services they’re seeking. But it’s also intended to give pilots plausible deniability in the face of potential legal threats. Some states are considering prosecuting those who help people get abortions, and Texas has already made them liable to lawsuits.

No existing laws specifically target interstate travel, although Idaho could soon make it a crime to help a minor travel out of state for an abortion without parental consent. But legal experts say flying for Elevated Access still might involve some legal risk.

“You could see an aggressive prosecutor trying to say, under the current laws, that, ‘We are going to charge this pilot with being an accessory to murder or an accessory to abortion,’” said David Cohen, a law professor at Drexel University. “We haven’t seen prosecutors try that yet. But there’s good reason to believe that’s on the horizon.”

Rachel Rebouche, dean of the Temple University Beasley School of Law, said there’s also a possibility that federal officials could place restrictions on abortion-related travel in U.S. air space.

“This current administration would not try to use federal aviation powers to penalize people who are flying rather than driving,” she said. “But in years to come, depending on who’s elected, an anti-abortion administration could try to do that.”