More Missourians getting abortions, but elsewhere

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The number of Missourians receiving abortions rose slightly last year, but more women apparently chose to travel out of state for the procedure.

Figures released Wednesday by the state Department of Health and Senior Services show 11,833 Missouri residents had abortions in 2006, a 1.8 percent increase over the previous year. But the number of abortions actually performed in Missouri fell 5.3 percent to 7,556 last year.

The gap is largely accounted for by Missourians who go to neighboring Kansas for abortions. Planned Parenthood's facility for surgical abortions in the Kansas City area is in Overland Park, Kan.

The figures do not include Missourians who go to Illinois for abortions, because of differences in how abortions are reported from there.

Even with the slight increase, the number of Missourians receiving abortions last year still was at its second-lowest mark since 1975, according to health department records.