Police suspect arson in fire at Wyoming abortion clinic web site

Police believe an in a single day fireplace in Wyoming that broken a constructing being renovated to house 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 consider was deliberately set — presumably by somebody seen working away from the building carrying what seemed to be a gas can and a bag.

The blaze broken the within of the constructing 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 deliberate to supply other health care companies for girls, had been set to open in June as solely the second place within the state to supply abortions. Wyoming’s present lone location for girls 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 running from the constructing with what seemed to be a gasoline can and a black bag, police stated in a Fb publish. Investigators were reviewing video footage from the area in hopes of identifying the suspect or generating a suspect description, police said. No accidents had been reported.

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

“Whether or not you’re in opposition to abortion or support abortion rights, you’re not going to make abortion go away,” stated 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 at the future clinic website, and indicators opposing abortion had been seen Wednesday in a window of an apartment next door to the constructing.

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

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