Wyoming abortion clinic catches fire, arson suspected

A building set to become Wyoming’s second abortion clinic was set on fire early Wednesday morning, police suspect.

Cops are investigating the fire at the building in Casper as arson. It had been scheduled to open in mid-June.

The fire was reported around 4 a.m. Wednesday, the Casper Police Department said in a Facebook post. A 911 caller said they saw someone with a gas can and a black bag running from the building shortly before the blaze erupted.

Police stand at the scene of an overnight fire that severely damaged a building that was being renovated to house a new abortion clinic in Casper, Wyo., on Wednesday. (Mead Gruver/)

Firefighters responded and quickly extinguished the flames, police said. No one was injured.

Wyoming’s only other abortion clinic is on the far west side of the state in Jackson, about 230 miles from Casper. Some residents in the 60,000-person city, Wyoming’s second-largest, have protested outside the future clinic, but there was no violence before Wednesday morning, according to Oil City News.

However, clinic organizer Julie Burkhart told the Associated Press that future employees and organizers have been harassed via phone calls and emails ahead of the opening. Burkhart added that the building has been equipped with cameras that were working. She said footage was turned over to police.

Wyoming is also one of 13 states with laws that will criminalize abortion if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade. A leaked draft opinion authored by conservative justice Samuel Alito suggested that’s likely to happen this summer. Even if the clinic cannot offer abortions, it could still open as a women’s health center.