Police suspect arson in hearth at Wyoming abortion clinic web site

Police consider an in a single day fireplace in Wyoming that damaged a constructing being renovated to accommodate a new abortion clinic was deliberately set

By

MEAD GRUVER Associated Press

Could 25, 2022, 3:57 PM ET

• 2 min learn

CASPER, Wyo. -- An abortion clinic set to open next month in conservative Wyoming was broken in a hearth early Wednesday that police imagine was deliberately set — possibly by somebody seen working away from the constructing carrying what appeared to be a fuel can and a bag.

The blaze broken the inside of the building beneath renovation to deal with the clinic in Casper, the second-biggest city in a state the place opposition to abortion is widespread.

The clinic, which also planned to provide other health care providers 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 ladies to get abortions is at a hospital in Jackson, 281 miles (452 kilometers) away.

A person who called authorities before dawn saw somebody operating 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 realm in hopes of identifying the suspect or producing a suspect description, police mentioned. No injuries had been reported.

Julie Burkhart, the clinic’s director, mentioned clinic organizers had been receiving harassing emails and phone messages. The building had video cameras that have been functioning, and police were given 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,” 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 at the future clinic web site, and indicators opposing abortion have been visible Wednesday in a window of an condo next door to the building.

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

Police briefly closed off the street where the small building is positioned as officers investigated. Several of the constructing's home windows were damaged, and smoke damage was visible round one shattered window.