On May 23, 350,000 fans packed the sold-out Indianapolis Speedway as Indy cars tore around the track at over 230 MPH. But amid the high-octane action, it was a surprise flyover that stole the show.
An airplane swooped through the clouds trailing a blue banner promoting mail-order abortion pills. Phones came out, beers spilled, and social media lit up. The banner reached an estimated 2.2 million viewers, calculated by Olivia “Liv” Raisner, who paid $26,000 for the stunt.
But Raisner isn’t selling pills. Through their nonprofit Mayday Health, they’re “spreading simple facts” and connecting women with two vital services: free legal advice and confidential medical support from OBGYNs and nurses. Mayday Health, an abortion education initiative, chose the Indianapolis 500 for its visibility and location in one of 12 states where abortion is banned.
Now the campaign shifts to Florida. On Aug. 4, a floating digital billboard launched a four-week voyage along St. Pete and Clearwater Beaches, gliding past packed waterfront restaurants and through busy bayfront channels. No plane this time – just a boat carrying bold messaging.
The mission: inform women of their options – options many don’t know they still have. “The anti-choice movement has done a phenomenal job of disseminating misinformation,” says Raisner, pointing to common myths, like claims that abortion pills are dangerous (they’re statistically safer than Viagra), and the rise of Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs), which steer women away from abortion.
“When the Roe draft leaked,” Raisner recalls, “it felt like an all-hands-on-deck moment.” A marketing veteran, she founded Mayday Health to fight misinformation with unflinching tactics – including going undercover at a CPC. Using a friend’s urine sample to feign pregnancy, Raisner was told abortion would lead to suicide, fallopian tube scarring and an inability to love future children.
Between CPC pressure, legal confusion, and restricted access to abortion medications, many women feel cornered. Mayday Health aims to change that – one plane, one boat, one bold message at a time.
Next up, Mayday is taking its message to the gas pump. In a new leg of the campaign, the nonprofit will blanket 104 gas stations across West Virginia and Kentucky, broadcasting abortion education on digital screens embedded in gas pumps – a targeted move in two more states where reproductive access is under pressure.