“The age is heartbreaking,” Michelle says of her young passenger. Because patients in states with abortion bans typically have to travel hundreds of miles and small aircraft like Michelle’s fly considerably slower and hold less fuel than commercial planes, multiple volunteer EA pilots often share the job. When they landed, Michelle handed the sisters over to another volunteer pilot who would fly them on to their destination. It was Michelle’s first flight with Elevated Access (EA), a nonprofit that organises a network of pilots to discreetly transport patients who otherwise do not have the means to cross state borders for an abortion. The girl was shy and quiet while her sister asked questions about the plane’s safety procedures, how high they would fly and how long the flight would take.Īs they flew over the yellow fields and muscular rivers of the South, Michelle pointed out landmarks to the older sister while the girl slept. With her older sister, who looked to be in her 20s, she climbed onboard Michelle’s four-seater aeroplane. Now she needed to travel hundreds of miles to the nearest clinic offering abortions. The girl’s home state had a “trigger law” on the books and had almost immediately banned abortion with very few exceptions. Just weeks earlier, on June 24, 2022, the United States Supreme Court had overturned Roe v Wade, the 1973 ruling that enshrined the legal right to abortion, thereby allowing states to enact bans. The girl was seeking an abortion, and Michelle, a licensed pilot, was about to fly her to another state so she could get one. She was wearing pyjamas and “carrying a stuffed animal for support,” recalls Michelle, who was there to meet her. It was summer, midday and hot when the teenager arrived at the tiny regional airport.

Fly Transporter: Airplane Pilot free