Police suspect arson in hearth at Wyoming abortion clinic site

Police consider an in a single day fire in Wyoming that damaged a constructing being renovated to house a new abortion clinic was intentionally set

By

MEAD GRUVER Related 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 damaged in a fireplace early Wednesday that police imagine was intentionally set — presumably by someone seen operating away from the building carrying what seemed to be a gas can and a bag.

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

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

A person who known as authorities earlier than dawn noticed somebody working from the constructing with what gave the impression to be a fuel can and a black bag, police said in a Facebook put up. Investigators have been reviewing video footage from the world in hopes of identifying the suspect or producing a suspect description, police mentioned. No injuries were reported.

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

“Whether you’re against abortion or help abortion rights, you’re not going to make abortion go away,” mentioned Burkhart, a former affiliate 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 on the future clinic site, and signs opposing abortion had been visible Wednesday in a window of an residence subsequent door to the constructing.

Wyoming is certainly one of 13 U.S. states with a so-called set off law that may 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 occur quickly.

Police briefly closed off the road the place the small constructing is positioned as officers investigated. Several of the constructing's windows were damaged, and smoke injury was seen around one shattered window.