Police suspect arson in fireplace at Wyoming abortion clinic web site

Police imagine an overnight fire in Wyoming that broken a constructing being renovated to deal with a new abortion clinic was intentionally set

By

MEAD GRUVER Associated Press

Could 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 believe was deliberately set — presumably by somebody seen working away from the building carrying what appeared to be a fuel can and a bag.

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

The clinic, which additionally deliberate to provide different health care providers for women, had been set to open in June as only the second place in the state to offer abortions. Wyoming’s present lone location for women to get abortions is at a hospital in Jackson, 281 miles (452 kilometers) away.

An individual who known as authorities before dawn saw someone working from the building with what gave the impression to be a gasoline can and a black bag, police stated in a Fb post. Investigators were reviewing video footage from the area in hopes of identifying the suspect or generating a suspect description, police mentioned. No accidents had been reported.

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

“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 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 on the future clinic website, and indicators opposing abortion have been seen Wednesday in a window of an residence next door to the building.

Wyoming is certainly one of 13 U.S. states with a so-called set off regulation that may immediately outlaw abortion if the Roe v. Wade determination that legalized it nationwide is overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. A leaked draft of a ruling suggests that may occur soon.

Police temporarily closed off the road the place the small constructing is positioned as officers investigated. A number of of the building's home windows have been damaged, and smoke damage was seen around one shattered window.