Mike Bonanza of Elevated Access told CG that the situation could "result in more referrals" to his flight-based organization, even as plane fuel is set to be impacted as well. Volunteer pilots with the nonprofit transport patients to abortion and gender-affirming care at no cost to passengers.
Gas prices have soared amid war in Iran, and now the high cost of fuel may be threatening transportation access to the abortion and gender-affirming care that some patients must travel great distances to reach.
In response to attacks by the United States and Israel at the end of February, Iran largely blocked passage through the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway essential to global shipping and the energy trade in particular. The war has also included airstrikes from the U.S., Israel, and Iran on fossil fuel infrastructure in the region, with oil reserves burning and polluting the air.
Now, an April 10 report from the U.S. Department of Labor is showing that gas prices are up "by more than a dollar a gallon, on average," according to National Public Radio. And NBC News has reported that, despite a two-week ceasefire issued on April 7, fuel prices "have yet to meaningfully decline."
With car gas averaging over $4.00 in the U.S. this week, the organization Abortion Access Front posed to social media on Thursday, "Are Gas Prices The New Abortion Ban??"
The group continued its post, describing how high costs may not legally but instead functionally limit access: "For folks living in states with strict abortion bans, abortion access ends up requiring HUNDREDS of miles of travel, and now the price at the pump is doing policy work 'n munching away at abortion access."
Some who live where access to abortion care is severely limited by law or lack of clinics may seek telehealth abortion care instead. But telehealth options are not available, practical, or preferred in every case, and so patients may aim to drive or fly long distances to a state where in-person care is more accessible.
Burdensome fuel costs may strain this option, especially for marginalized groups already disproportionately impacted by the affordability crisis. The 19th recently reported on how gas prices are impacting single moms — according to 2019 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 60% of women having abortions in the U.S. are already mothers.
"This is where practical support funds swoop in," Abortion Access Front wrote in its post, underscoring the need for mutual aid. Practical support organizations — or PSOs — aim to improve access through practical, tangible means, such as funding care, strengthening logistical support, and coordinating volunteer opportunities.
AAF said that increasing gas prices could mean that PSO funds won't go as far as they normally would. Mike Bonanza, the Executive Director of Elevated Access, suggested the price hikes could impact the efforts of his flight-based organization too. Elevated Access helps people reach abortion and gender-affirming care, often out of state, with volunteer pilots transporting patients at no cost to the passengers.
"On the airline side, we don't have enough data yet to know if higher prices are being driven by the March travel season or by the war," said Bonanza, who uses he/they pronouns, responding to a CG inquiry via email.
"For volunteer pilots, fuel prices are up over 20% since the beginning of March in some places," he continued. "That by itself is unlikely to affect pilots' financial capacity to take on a flight, but the broader inflationary effects on everything from higher fuel prices will definitely hurt some volunteer capacity."
Bonanza's assessment aligns with the Labor Department noting that the annual rate of inflation has just reached 3.3%, with a 21.2% increase in gasoline prices from February to March — the largest one-month jump in gas prices since 1967.
But while some corporate airlines are reportedly adding fuel surcharges to account for fuel price hikes, Bonanza told CG that the main concern right now is how much gas costs may impact someone's ability to drive to reach their health care.
"The broader impact on access is more likely to result from more people being unable to afford the gas required for driving." Bonanza said this could "result in more referrals" to Elevated Access.
Overall, the situation underscores how improved access to electric vehicles and other clean energy infrastructure might help to strengthen access to health care, often held at great distances — by miles, economic disparity, and a complicated patchwork of state laws.
"When fuel and other prices rise, social inequality increases, women and feminized people take on additional work, facing increased demands for unpaid care work and suffering the negative impacts on their access to fuel, food, transport, and housing," Tara Povey of the Bretton Woods Project told CG.
"If kids know that feeling dizzy, nauseous, or having a really bad headache means that they need to stop playing and get help, they'll be able to protect themselves from worsening symptoms," 12-year-old Natalie Rubio said, testifying before California lawmakers earlier this year.
"The goal is to better understand how systematic the relationship between sugarcane cultivation, child marriage, and hysterectomies is in India's Western Sugarcane Belt," Eliana La Ferrara and Aditi Bhowmick told CG. "Our findings suggest a substantial, persistent, and robust relationship..."
"Leptospirosis can be more serious in certain populations, including pregnant individuals, and may pose risks to both the pregnant person and the fetus," Department of Health spokesperson Adam LeFebvre told CG. "However, the risk can be managed with precautions and early medical care."
