Police suspect arson in fire at Wyoming abortion clinic web site

Police imagine an in a single day fireplace 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 fire early Wednesday that police imagine was deliberately set — presumably by somebody seen operating away from the building carrying what appeared to be a fuel can and a bag.

The blaze damaged the inside of the constructing underneath renovation to deal with the clinic in Casper, the second-biggest metropolis in a state where opposition to abortion is widespread.

The clinic, which additionally planned to supply different well being care companies for women, had been set to open in June as only the second place within the state to offer abortions. Wyoming’s current lone location for girls to get abortions is at a hospital in Jackson, 281 miles (452 kilometers) away.

A person who called authorities earlier than dawn saw someone running from the constructing with what seemed to be a gas can and a black bag, police said in a Facebook submit. Investigators were reviewing video footage from the world in hopes of figuring out the suspect or generating a suspect description, police stated. No injuries have been 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 said.

“Whether or not you’re against abortion or assist abortion rights, you’re not going to make abortion go away,” stated 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 were visible Wednesday in a window of an apartment subsequent door to the constructing.

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

Police temporarily closed off the road where the small building is positioned as officers investigated. Several of the building's home windows were broken, and smoke injury was visible round one shattered window.