Police suspect arson in hearth at Wyoming abortion clinic site

Police imagine an in a single day fire in Wyoming that broken a constructing being renovated to house a new abortion clinic was deliberately set

By

MEAD GRUVER Associated Press

Might 25, 2022, 3:57 PM ET

• 2 min learn

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

The blaze damaged the inside of the building below 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 deliberate to offer different well being care providers for women, had been set to open in June as only the second place in the state to offer abortions. Wyoming’s current lone location for ladies to get abortions is at a hospital in Jackson, 281 miles (452 kilometers) away.

An individual who known as authorities earlier than daybreak saw someone operating 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 world in hopes of identifying the suspect or generating a suspect description, police stated. No injuries were reported.

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

“Whether or not you’re against abortion or support abortion rights, you’re not going to make abortion go away,” mentioned Burkhart, a former affiliate of Dr. George Tiller, an abortion supplier who was shot and killed in a Wichita, Kansas, church in 2009.

Protests have been held this spring by abortion opponents on the future clinic site, and indicators opposing abortion had been visible Wednesday in a window of an residence subsequent door to the building.

Wyoming is one of 13 U.S. states with a so-called set off law that will immediately outlaw abortion if the Roe v. Wade choice that legalized it nationwide is overturned by the U.S. Supreme Courtroom. A leaked draft of a ruling suggests that can happen quickly.

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 visible round one shattered window.