US Troops Are Volunteering to Fly Abortion Seekers Across State Lines
Last edited Mon Sep 26, 2022, 11:25 PM - Edit history (1)
Using personal planes, off duty, and out of uniform, the pilots say it’s their ”patriotic duty” to help Americans.
JACQUELINE FELDSCHER | SEPTEMBER 26, 2022
http://GovExec.Com
U.S. troops are volunteering to fly people seeking an abortion from states that have banned the procedure to states where they can receive care, arguing that they donned a uniform to fight for freedom—including “freedom of choice.”
Elevated Access is a nonprofit founded in April that connects volunteer pilots with people needing an abortion who live in the more-than-a-dozen states where the procedure is banned. Those pilots use their own private planes, donating their time, fuel, and maintenance costs, said Fiona, a spokeswoman for the nonprofit who declined to use her last name to protect her privacy.
More than 800 pilots have volunteered to fly for Elevated Access, Fiona said. The group does not know how many of those have current and former ties to the military because the application does not ask about their military background. But, some pilots have voluntarily shared their military backgrounds or sent photos of themselves in a military uniform.
“I got an email from a pilot…in California and he’s an Air Force reservist offering to help us recruit more pilots from the military,” she said. “This is a guy who feels like…this is another way to serve his country.”
The group facilitated one flight so far from Oklahoma to Kansas in mid-June. “We have done one flight, and that was by design. We wanted to demonstrate it can be done,” Fiona said. “We’re not going to stand up a national airline overnight.”
More:
https://www.govexec.com/defense/2022/09/us-troops-are-volunteering-fly-abortion-seekers-across-state-lines/377626/
Group coordinating flights: https://elevatedaccess.org/
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