Police suspect arson in hearth at Wyoming abortion clinic site

Police believe an in a single day hearth in Wyoming that damaged a building being renovated to accommodate a new abortion clinic was intentionally set

By

MEAD GRUVER Associated Press

May 25, 2022, 3:57 PM ET

• 2 min read

CASPER, Wyo. -- An abortion clinic set to open next month in conservative Wyoming was broken in a fire early Wednesday that police imagine was intentionally set — probably by someone seen operating away from the building carrying what gave the impression to be a gasoline can and a bag.

The blaze broken the inside of the building beneath renovation to deal with the clinic in Casper, the second-biggest metropolis in a state the place opposition to abortion is widespread.

The clinic, which additionally planned to supply different health care services for ladies, had been set to open in June as solely the second place in the state to supply abortions. Wyoming’s present lone location for women to get abortions is at a hospital in Jackson, 281 miles (452 kilometers) away.

A person who referred to as authorities earlier than daybreak saw somebody working from the building with what appeared to be a fuel can and a black bag, police stated in a Fb submit. Investigators had been reviewing video footage from the area in hopes of figuring out the suspect or producing a suspect description, police stated. No injuries have been reported.

Julie Burkhart, the clinic’s director, said clinic organizers had been receiving harassing emails and phone messages. The building had video cameras that have been functioning, and police were given entry to them, she said.

“Whether or not you’re in opposition to abortion or assist abortion rights, you’re not going to make abortion go away,” said Burkhart, a former associate of Dr. George Tiller, an abortion provider who was shot and killed in a Wichita, Kansas, church in 2009.

Protests have been held this spring by abortion opponents at the future clinic web site, and signs opposing abortion were visible Wednesday in a window of an residence subsequent door to the constructing.

Wyoming is one in all 13 U.S. states with a so-called trigger legislation that might instantly outlaw abortion if the Roe v. Wade choice that legalized it nationwide is overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court docket. A leaked draft of a ruling suggests that may occur quickly.

Police temporarily closed off the road the place the small building is situated as officers investigated. Several of the constructing's home windows have been broken, and smoke damage was visible round one shattered window.