Police suspect arson in hearth at Wyoming abortion clinic site

Police consider an overnight fire in Wyoming that damaged a building being renovated to deal with a brand new abortion clinic was deliberately set

By

MEAD GRUVER Associated Press

Might 25, 2022, 3:57 PM ET

• 2 min read

CASPER, Wyo. -- An abortion clinic set to open subsequent month in conservative Wyoming was damaged in a fireplace early Wednesday that police consider was intentionally set — presumably by somebody seen operating away from the constructing carrying what appeared to be a gasoline can and a bag.

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

The clinic, which also deliberate to offer different health care providers for ladies, had been set to open in June as solely the second place within 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.

A person who referred to as authorities before dawn noticed someone operating from the building with what gave the impression to be a gasoline can and a black bag, police said in a Facebook post. Investigators were reviewing video footage from the world in hopes of identifying the suspect or producing a suspect description, police said. 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 have been functioning, and police got access to them, she stated.

“Whether you’re towards abortion or assist 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 web site, and signs opposing abortion have been visible Wednesday in a window of an residence next door to the constructing.

Wyoming is one among 13 U.S. states with a so-called trigger legislation that may 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 situated as officers investigated. Several of the constructing's home windows had been broken, and smoke damage was seen round one shattered window.