Police suspect arson in fire at Wyoming abortion clinic site

Police believe an in a single day fireplace in Wyoming that broken a constructing being renovated to deal with a brand new abortion clinic was intentionally set

By

MEAD GRUVER Related Press

Could 25, 2022, 3:57 PM ET

• 2 min read

CASPER, Wyo. -- An abortion clinic set to open subsequent month in conservative Wyoming was broken in a hearth early Wednesday that police believe was deliberately set — possibly by somebody seen operating away from the constructing carrying what gave the impression to be a gas can and a bag.

The blaze damaged the within of the building below renovation to accommodate the clinic in Casper, the second-biggest metropolis in a state where opposition to abortion is widespread.

The clinic, which additionally deliberate to supply other well being care services for ladies, had been set to open in June as only 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.

An individual who referred to as authorities earlier than daybreak saw somebody working from the building with what appeared to be a gas can and a black bag, police said in a Fb post. Investigators have been reviewing video footage from the area in hopes of identifying the suspect or generating a suspect description, police stated. No injuries were reported.

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

“Whether you’re in opposition to abortion or help 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 website, and signs opposing abortion have been seen Wednesday in a window of an apartment next door to the building.

Wyoming is considered one of 13 U.S. states with a so-called trigger legislation that may instantly outlaw abortion if the Roe v. Wade determination that legalized it nationwide is overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court docket. A leaked draft of a ruling suggests that can happen soon.

Police briefly closed off the road where the small building is located as officers investigated. A number of of the constructing's windows were broken, and smoke damage was seen around one shattered window.