Abortion numbers keep dropping in Minn.

The number of abortions performed in Minnesota each year continues to drop.

A report released Monday from the Minnesota Department of Health shows that the number of abortions performed in Minnesota dropped from just over 11,000 in 2011 to about 10,700 in 2012, a decrease of 3 percent. Data show the number of abortions has dropped consistently over a six-year period.

Opponents of abortion and proponents of abortion rights are hailing the report.

Officials with Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, a group opposed to legal abortion, said the report is good news because it indicates that laws passed about six years ago are having an effect. Spokesman Bill Poehler said the so-called "Women's Right to Know Law" and the Positive Alternatives Act have helped turn women away from abortion.

"We see a direct correlation there and we're really excited to see that that program has been really successful," Poehler said. "More and more women are turning away from abortion and are choosing to give birth to their babies."

Sarah Stoesz, the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, also hails the drop in abortions. However, in a statement Stoesz credits the decline to access to birth control.

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