In the News
"Our freedom to fly in the United States is more than any other country in the world. The people Elevated Access serves, their freedoms have been taken away. The ability to have reproductive health treatment or gender-affirming care is being compromised. I’m willing to work and put myself on the line to protect their freedom.”
- Dr. Howard Epstein
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New York Times
She fought tears as she recalled waiting a month for an appointment with Planned Parenthood, only to learn there that it was too late to receive her abortion in Minnesota. The waiting list in nearby Illinois was also a month long.
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CNN
If the doctors that are doing this work burn out, get tired, wore out, that's one other way the whole ecosystem on abortion can get worse still.
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US Congresswoman Shontel Brown
It sounds like something out of another time and place, evoking memories of people escaping East Germany or North Korea, reliant on small planes, heroic pilots, and promises of anonymity.
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Today
Mom joins volunteer pilots to fly people across state lines for abortions. "I needed to act. When you’re carrying an unplanned pregnancy, it feels like you’re being held hostage."
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The Guardian
Elevated Access cuts a journey that may be 3 days away from home (by car) to basically 6 hours. Our typical client is a woman of color, a mother with 1-3 children and very low income.
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NPR
Private flights prove particularly useful for people who don't have the documents needed to fly commercially. She was in a domestic violence situation where her abusive partner had destroyed her ID and birth certificate.
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Chicago Sun-Times
Pilots take tremendous pride in the freedom we have to fly. I don't have to file a flight plan. I don't have to talk to air traffic control. It felt right to use those freedoms to help someone whose freedoms are being threatened.
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NBC 11 Alive
When I got back to the United States, things aren't so wonderful. I keep hearing about the best medical care in the world. Horse-feathers! That may be but not for a whole lot of people.
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Brut Media
As much as I would like to put a face to the cause, I can't do that as it would risk my career and my future. I am part of this community that is being stripped of their rights and freedoms.
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The Cut: New York Magazine
What most people don't realize is that every county has an airport. And when you fly from one of these small airports, there are no tickets, manifests, TSA, long lines, or security process.
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Adrian, @cheesepilot
When asked why he volunteers, Adrian speaks plainly about his mother, who was raped by an older man when she was 13 years old. Her parents did not allow her to seek an abortion. She was forced to give birth to Adrian and his identical twin brother at the age of 14.
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Rolling Stone
We’re all relying on each other. People are so desperate to get the care that they need and want and deserve that they’ll, you know, do a lot of things to access that care.