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Date on which North Carolina Gov.

Additional cost to build a clinic that meets ambulatory surgical center standards: $1 million
Number of bodyguards that accompanied McCrory the following day when he left the executive mansion and stepped into the street to deliver cookies to abortion rights advocates protesting outside, who returned them with a note that said, "We want women's health care, not cookies": 4
Number of days after the cookie incident that the McCrory administration revoked the license of the Femcare abortion clinic in Asheville after reportedly finding problems with equipment, maintenance, and personnel: 1
Besides the Femcare facility, whose owner says she intends to fix the problems and reopen soon, number of North Carolina's other 15 abortion clinics that currently meet the ambulatory surgical center standards: 0
Over the past three months, total number of abortion clinics whose operations North Carolina regulators have suspended for various violations: 3
Total number suspended over the previous 14 years: 2
Number of abortion clinics still operating in Mississippi following the passage of laws that impose strict regulations on providers: 1
Date on which the state's lone abortion clinic won a federal court stay blocking enforcement of a 2012 law that would have closed it by requiring providers to have hospital admitting privileges: 4/15/2013
Month in which the Arkansas legislature overrode a veto by Gov. Mike Beebe (D) to ban abortions occurring more than 12 weeks after a woman's last menstrual period: 3/2013
Number of months later that a federal judge temporarily blocked enforcement of the Arkansas law: 2
Date on which Texas state Sen. Eddie Lucio, a Democrat, filed a bill that would require women seeking an abortion in the state to first take a course on adoption: 7/29/2013
Date on which Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) signed into law a bill that prohibits abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy and imposes new regulations that may shut down most of the state's abortion providers: 7/18/2013
Date on which the U.S. House passed a ban on abortion after 20 weeks, a measure now being advanced in the U.S. Senate by Republican leaders including Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas: 6/18/2013
Year in which the first 20-week abortion ban, which is based on a disputed theory of fetal pain, was adopted by a state legislature: 2010
Number of states that have since enacted such bans, which have become a major tactic of the anti-abortion movement: 12
In the three states where the 20-week abortion bans have been legally challenged, number where they have been blocked by the courts: 3
Weeks of pregnancy at which a fetus is deemed viable, which is the current cutoff for banning abortion under established constitutional law: 24
Aside from abortion, number of other winning social issues some conservatives see as having left in their political arsenal: 0
Since the mid-1990s, percentage points by which opposition to abortion rights has increased in the U.S. South Central region including Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas: 12
Percent of adults in the region who say abortion should be illegal in all or most cases: 52
Percentage-point difference in support for legal abortion between the South Central region and New England, where abortion rights have broad backing: 35
(Click on figure to go to source.)
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |

Additional cost to build a clinic that meets ambulatory surgical center standards: $1 million
Number of bodyguards that accompanied McCrory the following day when he left the executive mansion and stepped into the street to deliver cookies to abortion rights advocates protesting outside, who returned them with a note that said, "We want women's health care, not cookies": 4
Number of days after the cookie incident that the McCrory administration revoked the license of the Femcare abortion clinic in Asheville after reportedly finding problems with equipment, maintenance, and personnel: 1
Besides the Femcare facility, whose owner says she intends to fix the problems and reopen soon, number of North Carolina's other 15 abortion clinics that currently meet the ambulatory surgical center standards: 0
Over the past three months, total number of abortion clinics whose operations North Carolina regulators have suspended for various violations: 3
Total number suspended over the previous 14 years: 2
Number of abortion clinics still operating in Mississippi following the passage of laws that impose strict regulations on providers: 1
Date on which the state's lone abortion clinic won a federal court stay blocking enforcement of a 2012 law that would have closed it by requiring providers to have hospital admitting privileges: 4/15/2013
Month in which the Arkansas legislature overrode a veto by Gov. Mike Beebe (D) to ban abortions occurring more than 12 weeks after a woman's last menstrual period: 3/2013
Number of months later that a federal judge temporarily blocked enforcement of the Arkansas law: 2
Date on which Texas state Sen. Eddie Lucio, a Democrat, filed a bill that would require women seeking an abortion in the state to first take a course on adoption: 7/29/2013
Date on which Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) signed into law a bill that prohibits abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy and imposes new regulations that may shut down most of the state's abortion providers: 7/18/2013
Date on which the U.S. House passed a ban on abortion after 20 weeks, a measure now being advanced in the U.S. Senate by Republican leaders including Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas: 6/18/2013
Year in which the first 20-week abortion ban, which is based on a disputed theory of fetal pain, was adopted by a state legislature: 2010
Number of states that have since enacted such bans, which have become a major tactic of the anti-abortion movement: 12
In the three states where the 20-week abortion bans have been legally challenged, number where they have been blocked by the courts: 3
Weeks of pregnancy at which a fetus is deemed viable, which is the current cutoff for banning abortion under established constitutional law: 24
Aside from abortion, number of other winning social issues some conservatives see as having left in their political arsenal: 0
Since the mid-1990s, percentage points by which opposition to abortion rights has increased in the U.S. South Central region including Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas: 12
Percent of adults in the region who say abortion should be illegal in all or most cases: 52
Percentage-point difference in support for legal abortion between the South Central region and New England, where abortion rights have broad backing: 35
(Click on figure to go to source.)

Additional cost to build a clinic that meets ambulatory surgical center standards: $1 million
Number of bodyguards that accompanied McCrory the following day when he left the executive mansion and stepped into the street to deliver cookies to abortion rights advocates protesting outside, who returned them with a note that said, "We want women's health care, not cookies": 4
Number of days after the cookie incident that the McCrory administration revoked the license of the Femcare abortion clinic in Asheville after reportedly finding problems with equipment, maintenance, and personnel: 1
Besides the Femcare facility, whose owner says she intends to fix the problems and reopen soon, number of North Carolina's other 15 abortion clinics that currently meet the ambulatory surgical center standards: 0
Over the past three months, total number of abortion clinics whose operations North Carolina regulators have suspended for various violations: 3
Total number suspended over the previous 14 years: 2
Number of abortion clinics still operating in Mississippi following the passage of laws that impose strict regulations on providers: 1
Date on which the state's lone abortion clinic won a federal court stay blocking enforcement of a 2012 law that would have closed it by requiring providers to have hospital admitting privileges: 4/15/2013
Month in which the Arkansas legislature overrode a veto by Gov. Mike Beebe (D) to ban abortions occurring more than 12 weeks after a woman's last menstrual period: 3/2013
Number of months later that a federal judge temporarily blocked enforcement of the Arkansas law: 2
Date on which Texas state Sen. Eddie Lucio, a Democrat, filed a bill that would require women seeking an abortion in the state to first take a course on adoption: 7/29/2013
Date on which Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) signed into law a bill that prohibits abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy and imposes new regulations that may shut down most of the state's abortion providers: 7/18/2013
Date on which the U.S. House passed a ban on abortion after 20 weeks, a measure now being advanced in the U.S. Senate by Republican leaders including Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas: 6/18/2013
Year in which the first 20-week abortion ban, which is based on a disputed theory of fetal pain, was adopted by a state legislature: 2010
Number of states that have since enacted such bans, which have become a major tactic of the anti-abortion movement: 12
In the three states where the 20-week abortion bans have been legally challenged, number where they have been blocked by the courts: 3
Weeks of pregnancy at which a fetus is deemed viable, which is the current cutoff for banning abortion under established constitutional law: 24
Aside from abortion, number of other winning social issues some conservatives see as having left in their political arsenal: 0
Since the mid-1990s, percentage points by which opposition to abortion rights has increased in the U.S. South Central region including Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas: 12
Percent of adults in the region who say abortion should be illegal in all or most cases: 52
Percentage-point difference in support for legal abortion between the South Central region and New England, where abortion rights have broad backing: 35
(Click on figure to go to source.)