Police suspect arson in hearth at Wyoming abortion clinic web site

Police imagine an overnight fireplace in Wyoming that damaged a constructing being renovated to house a brand new abortion clinic was deliberately set

By

MEAD GRUVER Related Press

Could 25, 2022, 3:57 PM ET

• 2 min read

CASPER, Wyo. -- An abortion clinic set to open next month in conservative Wyoming was damaged in a hearth early Wednesday that police believe was intentionally set — possibly by someone seen operating away from the constructing carrying what seemed to be a gas can and a bag.

The blaze broken the inside of the building underneath renovation to house the clinic in Casper, the second-biggest city in a state where opposition to abortion is widespread.

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

An individual who called authorities before dawn noticed someone working from the building with what appeared to be a gas can and a black bag, police mentioned in a Fb put up. Investigators had been reviewing video footage from the world in hopes of identifying the suspect or producing a suspect description, police mentioned. No injuries had been reported.

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

“Whether or not you’re towards abortion or help abortion rights, you’re not going to make abortion go away,” mentioned 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 site, and signs opposing abortion had been visible Wednesday in a window of an condo subsequent door to the building.

Wyoming is one among 13 U.S. states with a so-called set off regulation that will immediately outlaw abortion if the Roe v. Wade resolution that legalized it nationwide is overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. A leaked draft of a ruling suggests that may happen soon.

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