Police suspect arson in fireplace at Wyoming abortion clinic web site

Police imagine an overnight hearth in Wyoming that damaged a building being renovated to deal with a new abortion clinic was intentionally 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 hearth early Wednesday that police believe was intentionally set — presumably by someone seen running away from the building carrying what seemed to be a fuel can and a bag.

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

The clinic, which also planned to offer different well being care companies for ladies, had been set to open in June as only the second place in 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 known as authorities before daybreak noticed someone operating from the constructing with what seemed to be a gas can and a black bag, police stated in a Facebook put up. Investigators were reviewing video footage from the area in hopes of figuring out the suspect or producing a suspect description, police mentioned. No accidents were reported.

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

“Whether you’re against 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 signs opposing abortion had been visible Wednesday in a window of an apartment next door to the constructing.

Wyoming is one in all 13 U.S. states with a so-called set off regulation that will instantly outlaw abortion if the Roe v. Wade determination that legalized it nationwide is overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court docket. A leaked draft of a ruling suggests that will occur quickly.

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