Sole clinic in Wyoming that will offer surgical abortions is set on fire, police say
An abortion clinic that will offer the state’s only surgical abortions was set on fire, police said.
Firefighters were called to a small fire around 3:53 a.m. on Wednesday, May 25, at the Wellspring Health Access clinic, the Casper Fire-EMS Department and the Casper Police Department said.
The flames were quickly put out, and no injuries were reported, the fire department said.
The cause of the blaze is under investigation, the fire department said.
A person carrying a gas can and a black bag was spotted running from the fire, police said. The fire is believed to be intentional.
Police are reviewing surveillance footage.
The Wellspring Health Access was set to open next month, The Casper Star Tribune reported. It would be the only clinic in the state to offer surgical abortions, which would allow women to get abortions later in their pregnancies.
“This was intentional,” the company’s founder, Julie Burkhart, told the news outlet at the scene of the fire.
The clinic was set to open in Casper and would also give abortion services to people living in “low access states” such as Nebraska, South Dakota and Montana.
There’s one other abortion clinic in the state — in Jackson — but it only offers a medication abortion. This form of abortion allows women to take a pill to terminate their pregnancies up to 10 weeks into them.
People living in Wyoming have to drive to Fort Collins, Colorado, or Billings, Montana, to get a surgical abortion nearby.
This story was originally published May 25, 2022 at 1:21 PM with the headline "Sole clinic in Wyoming that will offer surgical abortions is set on fire, police say."
