Police suspect arson in fire at Wyoming abortion clinic site

Police consider an in a single day hearth in Wyoming that broken a constructing being renovated to deal with a brand new abortion clinic was deliberately set

By

MEAD GRUVER Related Press

Could 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 consider was intentionally set — possibly by someone seen operating away from the constructing carrying what appeared to be a gasoline can and a bag.

The blaze broken the within of the constructing under 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 deliberate to supply other well being care providers for women, had been set to open in June as only the second place in 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.

An individual who called authorities before dawn noticed someone working from the constructing with what seemed to be a gasoline can and a black bag, police said in a Fb put up. Investigators have been reviewing video footage from the realm in hopes of identifying the suspect or generating a suspect description, police stated. No accidents have been reported.

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

“Whether you’re towards abortion or assist abortion rights, you’re not going to make abortion go away,” stated 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 signs opposing abortion have been visible Wednesday in a window of an condominium next door to the constructing.

Wyoming is certainly one of 13 U.S. states with a so-called trigger law that may instantly 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 can happen quickly.

Police quickly closed off the road where the small constructing is located as officers investigated. A number of of the building's windows were broken, and smoke harm was visible round one shattered window.