It isn't the Abstract, it's the .SH, which calls .RT, which somehow changes the FS macro. If you replace .SH with .RT in test.ms nothing changes; if you delete it altogether the missing footnotes appear.
If you put .pm above and below .SH (or .RT) and run: ; htmlroff -ms -mhtml test.ms >/dev/null |[2] grep FS you can see that the FS macro is being messed with. I'll dig further... umbraticus ------------------------------------------ 9fans: 9fans Permalink: https://9fans.topicbox.com/groups/9fans/T530822947a31ba06-M34d92b1177885d8baf1d0ab6 Delivery options: https://9fans.topicbox.com/groups/9fans/subscription