Police suspect arson in fireplace at Wyoming abortion clinic web site

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

By

MEAD GRUVER Associated Press

May 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 fire early Wednesday that police imagine was intentionally set — presumably by someone seen running away from the building carrying what appeared to be a gas can and a bag.

The blaze damaged the inside of the constructing beneath renovation to house 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 companies for women, had been set to open in June as only the second place in the state to supply abortions. Wyoming’s current lone location for ladies to get abortions is at a hospital in Jackson, 281 miles (452 kilometers) away.

An individual who known as authorities earlier than dawn noticed somebody operating from the building with what gave the impression to be a fuel can and a black bag, police mentioned in a Fb post. Investigators have been reviewing video footage from the world in hopes of figuring out the suspect or generating a suspect description, police said. No injuries were reported.

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

“Whether you’re against abortion or assist abortion rights, you’re not going to make abortion go away,” mentioned 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 were seen Wednesday in a window of an condo next door to the building.

Wyoming is considered one of 13 U.S. states with a so-called trigger regulation that might instantly outlaw abortion if the Roe v. Wade resolution that legalized it nationwide is overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. A leaked draft of a ruling suggests that may happen quickly.

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