Police suspect arson in fireplace at Wyoming abortion clinic website

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

By

MEAD GRUVER Related Press

Might 25, 2022, 3:57 PM ET

• 2 min read

CASPER, Wyo. -- An abortion clinic set to open next month in conservative Wyoming was broken in a fireplace early Wednesday that police consider was intentionally set — possibly by somebody seen running away from the constructing carrying what gave the impression to be a gasoline can and a bag.

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

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

A person who called authorities before dawn noticed someone operating from the constructing with what gave the impression to be a gasoline can and a black bag, police said in a Fb post. Investigators had been reviewing video footage from the realm in hopes of identifying the suspect or generating a suspect description, police mentioned. No accidents have been reported.

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

“Whether or not you’re towards abortion or assist abortion rights, you’re not going to make abortion go away,” stated 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 indicators opposing abortion have been visible Wednesday in a window of an apartment subsequent door to the constructing.

Wyoming is one among 13 U.S. states with a so-called trigger legislation 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 will occur soon.

Police briefly closed off the road where the small constructing is located as officers investigated. Several of the building's windows had been damaged, and smoke injury was visible around one shattered window.