Police suspect arson in fireplace at Wyoming abortion clinic web site

Police imagine an overnight fireplace in Wyoming that damaged a constructing being renovated to accommodate a new abortion clinic was deliberately set

By

MEAD GRUVER Associated 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 fireplace early Wednesday that police believe was deliberately set — presumably by someone seen operating away from the constructing carrying what appeared to be a fuel can and a bag.

The blaze damaged the within of the constructing below renovation to house the clinic in Casper, the second-biggest city in a state where opposition to abortion is widespread.

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

A person who referred to as authorities earlier than dawn saw somebody working from the building with what seemed to be a gasoline can and a black bag, police stated in a Facebook submit. Investigators had been reviewing video footage from the area in hopes of figuring out the suspect or generating a suspect description, police mentioned. No accidents have been reported.

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

“Whether or not you’re towards abortion or support abortion rights, you’re not going to make abortion go away,” mentioned Burkhart, a former associate 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 website, and signs opposing abortion had been visible Wednesday in a window of an residence subsequent door to the constructing.

Wyoming is one in all 13 U.S. states with a so-called trigger regulation that would 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 may occur quickly.

Police quickly closed off the road where the small constructing is situated as officers investigated. A number of of the building's home windows were damaged, and smoke damage was visible around one shattered window.