Topeka, Kan. – The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) has published a preliminary report titled Abortions in Kansas, 2011. The report reveals there were 7,851 reported abortions reported in 2011, which is 522 fewer than what was reported in 2010.

Out-of-state residents slightly outnumbered in-state residents, 3,939 reports to 3,912. Of the 3,939 out-of-state residents who obtained abortions in Kansas, 3,857 (97.9%) were residents of Missouri.

Women 20-24 years of age comprised the largest age-group seeking abortions (33.4%). The largest decline in the number of procedures also occurred to women 20-24 years of age, which decreased by 189 procedures (6.7%) from 2010.

State law requires that physicians, hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers report abortions to KDHE. The Women’s Right-to-Know Act requires physicians who perform abortions to provide certain information, to meet individually with women seeking an abortion and to report to KDHE the number of informed-consent certifications received by women. There were 8,033 informed-consent certifications reported by physicians in 2011.

This report is a preliminary analysis of these data as collected by the KDHE Bureau of Epidemiology and Public Health Informatics.