84,052. That is the number of abortions reported in Florida in 2023, according to the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration.

With a six-week ban on abortions taking effect Wednesday, abortion providers in other states say they’re already bearing the burden of that demand.

“It’s not even noon, and we’re absolutely already seeing an impact, especially in requests for appointments,” said Calla Hales, executive director of Preferred Women’s Health Center, which provides abortions and has two clinics in North Carolina. “We’re seeing an influx of calls coming in from patients trying to figure out what the laws are and what they need to do to receive care outside of Florida since they are no longer able to.”

Abortion is currently banned after 12 weeks in North Carolina. That’s one of the least restrictive bans in the southeastern U.S.

Hales said North Carolina abortion providers have managed an influx of patients since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in its 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health decision..

“When Dobbs went into effect… the last half of 2022, we were operating at a 167% capacity,” Hales said.

While some of that demand quieted when North Carolina’s current abortion restriction took effect in 2023, Hales said providers in the state are already stretched thin as they brace for the impact of Florida’s new restrictions in the coming weeks and months.

“The unfortunate reality is North Carolina is already maxed,” Hales said. “There’s only so much we can do to continue to expand.”

Other businesses are preparing to absorb the demand as well.

GetStix is a website that sells women’s health products including pregnancy tests, condoms and the morning-after pill.

“After the Dobbs decision, we found that sales honestly skyrocketed,” the site’s co-founder, Cynthia Plotch, said. “And today with the latest news out of Florida, we expect to see the same.”

Stix shared sales data with WPTV, which shows a 43% increase in sales of its morning-after pill compared with last year.

Stix also reported a 123% increase in sales of the medication to Florida customers since 2022.

To date this year, AHCA reports 14,735 abortions performed in Florida. Ninety percent of those occurred during the first trimester of pregnancy.

One abortion was reported this year during the third trimester. Because Florida abortion providers are required to report the reason for ending a pregnancy to the state, we know it was due to a fatal fetal abnormality.

Florida’s new abortion restriction provide exceptions for abortions to take place between six and 15 weeks into a pregnancy in cases of rape, incest, human trafficking. If a patient claims any of those exceptions, they are required bring legal or medical documentation to the abortion provider.

In 2023, the AHCA reported 11 pregnancies were terminated in Florida due to incest, 107 were terminated due to rape, and 2 were terminated due to human trafficking.

An exception in the new restriction also provides for abortion between 6 and 15 weeks gestation if “there is a medical necessity for legitimate emergency medical procedures for termination of the pregnancy to save the pregnant woman’s life or avert a serious risk of imminent substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman other than a psychological condition.”

This exception requires certification from two physicians in writing, unless one physician certifies in writing that a second doctor is unavailable to consult.

The AHCA reports 2,325 pregnancies in 2023 were terminated due to the emotional or psychological health of the mother, 1,334 abortions were performed due to a physical health condition that was not life-threatening for the mother, and 251 were performed due to a condition that threatened the mother’s life.

Scripps Only Content 2024

Wednesday evening, the West Virginia Mountaineers picked up yet another commitment out of the transfer portal landing former Oklahoma State guard Javon Small (6’3″, 195 lbs).

Small appeared in 31 games this past season for the Cowboys, averaging 15.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and one steal per game while shooting 44% from the field and 37% from three-point land. He led the team in scoring and assists while finishing fourth in the Big 12 in free throw percentage (86.6%) and in the top 10 in defensive rebounds (4.3).

Small is a solid two-way player that can score the ball from all three levels of the floor and plays with intensity on the defensive end. He notched double figures in 24 of his 31 games played, including going over 20 points six times. At season’s end, Small was named to the All-Big 12 honorable mention team.

The South Bend, Indiana native began his career at East Carolina, spending two seasons there. He saw limited action as true freshman – just nine minutes per game – but blossomed into a high-caliber player in year two with the Pirates, averaging 15.8 points and 5.6 assists per game.

He will have one year of eligibility remaining

WVU PORTAL ADDITIONS

G Tucker DeVries (Drake)

G Sencire Harris (Illinois)

G Javon Small (Oklahoma State)

F Amani Hansberry (Illinois)

F Toby Okani (Illinois-Chicago)

C Eduardo Andre (Fresno State)

WVU PORTAL LOSSES

G Jeremiah Bembry

G Noah Farrakhan

G Kobe Johnson

G Kerr Kriisa

G Seth Wilson (Akron)

F Josiah Harris (Akron)

F Pat Suemnick (DePaul)

C Ali Ragab

I’ll never forget discovering GamecockCentral.com.

Growing up, I wasn’t really into college sports. I was more of an NFL, NBA kid. That’s what was on the TV growing up. Being from Anderson, I was generally surrounded by Clemson and Georgia fans. While neither of those segments was able to capture me, there wasn’t exactly a wealth of Gamecocks around, either.

It wasn’t until high school, when I took a visit to South Carolina’s campus with my friend, that I began to understand.

My buddy’s sister went to Carolina and invited us down to Columbia. The Georgia Bulldogs were in town. Troy Williamson took a slant 64 yards for a touchdown. Ko Simpson picked off David Greene and took it to the house. The fans in Williams-Brice Stadium were losing their minds.

The second half didn’t go as well. The Gamecocks would go on to lose a heartbreaker, 16-10.

It didn’t matter to me.

I was hooked.

From there, I started really paying attention. I looked online for websites with information on USC sports and recruiting and came across a cool website run by someone named Brian Shoemaker.

I was a poor college kid, but I just had to get the premium subscription anyway. The information was too riveting, the message boards too entertaining.

From a computer in my Whaley’s Mill apartment on USC’s campus, I perused recruiting profiles and discussed with friends all the four-star prospects who were definitely going to be the next stars in Columbia.

I could have never predicted that that website would allow me to be employed just a few years later.

And I couldn’t have dreamed that I would still be here 15 years after that.

The plan at USC was to finish undergrad and go to law school, but I had always enjoyed writing. My first job out of college was as a legal assistant for a criminal defense attorney.

I was so deep into the world of Gamecock sports that I began to do some freelancing. I sometimes did this in the middle of my duties helping to defend the wrongfully accused. The first football story I ever wrote online was a piece on South Carolina’s special teams, coached at the time by Shane Beamer.

I had opened up a conversation with Shoe about possibly doing some part-time work for him. One day, he sent an email that went something like this:

“Actually, I’m going to have a full-time position open.”

I was surprised, mainly that he would want to talk with me about that job. Nonetheless, an interview was set.

The meeting took place in – almost hilariously now – the Whitney Hotel.

Somehow, I got the job.

I think it’s most likely because some guy named Wes Mitchell was under contract elsewhere and Shoe couldn’t hire him.

Either way, I was in. And boy, was I clueless.

On top of getting married in just a few months and needing to buy a house, I also needed to really learn how to do this job that Shoe had hired me to do. I was stepping into a competitive market with little experience. The vast majority of USC fans would have no clue who I was, and for good reason.

I had a little runway before I would officially start, but I got to work behind the scenes. I cold-called potential sources and worked on building relationships. I tried to absorb and learn what I could, but I had a long way to go.

That first summer, I covered one of Steve Spurrier’s summer camps. Spurrier, who was brilliant but sometimes aloof, ran across me. When he found out I was with the media – even though the camps were open to everyone including media – he nearly kicked me out. Then-quarterbacks coach G.A. Mangus stood nearby, watching it all and trying not to laugh.

Not all was smooth at the beginning. Plenty of other things happened in those early days that were not funny. Many lessons were learned the hard way.

I onboarded at a fun time. Spurrier was recruiting a running back who could revolutionize the team in Marcus Lattimore. The Gamecocks made the SEC Championship game for the first time ever the second year I covered the program.

Before college football got all paranoid, we viewed entire preseason practices. I sat in my tailgating chair on the old Proving Grounds, watching Alshon Jeffery go against Stephon Gilmore in practice.

Clowney arrived. The team won 33 games in three seasons and beat Clemson for five straight seasons.

A couple years later, Spurrier left. It happened unexpectedly at the end of a Monday night practice. Wes – who had by then joined us at GamecockCentral – and I worked to run down the story, beaten barely by a national reporter.

We covered the hiring – and firing – of Will Muschamp, then the search that led to Shane Beamer.

I’ve had a chance to hear the funniest, craziest stories. I’ve been fortunate to break some stories. I’ve been beaten on a bunch of them, too.

There’s not much, by the way, like the thrill of chasing a big scoop and being able to publish it.

That feeling still pales in comparison to the joy from the relationships I’ve been able to form because of this job. I’ve met people I never would have otherwise met in these 15 years. I am very thankful for all those folks and to everyone who’s done so much for me professionally and personally. It seems almost silly sometimes that this is how I get to make my living.

The people that I need to thank the most are the ones that are reading this.

A lot has happened in 15 years. The football team has won games and lost games. Recruits have committed, decommitted, transferred, and even transferred back. On a personal level, I’ve had two children, lost my dad, and gone through more of the real world stuff that gets all of us at one point or another.

Through all of, GamecockCentral has been a constant. You all have been there.

When I published my first Insider Report 15 years ago today, you gave me a chance.

When I stepped away for a bit in the summer of 2022, you all were waiting when I came back.

A couple of years before that, none of us knew if we would even have jobs for much longer, because sporting events were on halt. You stayed subscribed, and we’re still here.

To everyone who has logged on to GamecockCentral.com to read one of our stories, I appreciate you.

For all of our subscribers – many of you far predate my arrival here – the fact that you trusted us enough to join is the reason I get to have this incredible gig.

I hope I can have it for a while longer.

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