Cheyenne, Wyo. (AP) — A woman has been arrested on suspicion of setting fire to a Wyoming building that was being renovated to house the state’s only full-service abortion clinic, authorities said Wednesday, hours after a judge temporarily blocked the abortion ban that went into effect. force a few days ago.
Lorna Roxanne Green, 22, of Casper, was arrested Tuesday by Casper police and agents from the FBI and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Wyoming U.S. Attorney Nicholas Vassallo said. in a statement.
Green faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted, according to the statement. He is scheduled to appear in federal court in Cheyenne Thursday morning.
The fire broke out on May 25, 2022 in a stucco house in Casper, the state’s second largest city and the site of frequent anti-abortion protests.
A witness told police he heard broken glass and saw a person leave the area with a gas can and a black bag. Security video released by police showed a woman in a hoodie and mask carrying what appeared to be a red canister of fuel in a room in the building shortly before the fire.
No one was injured in the fire, which left the planned Wellspring Health Access clinic with broken windows and smoke damage.
“Now that a suspect has been arrested, we can continue to focus on providing quality reproductive health care to the Casper community in a safe and compassionate environment,” Wellspring President Julie Burkhart said in a statement.
The clinic was scheduled to open last summer as the only facility of its kind in the state, offering women’s health care, family planning and gender care, as well as abortion services. But the fire delayed those plans.
The opening was then scheduled for next month, but was thrown into question after Gov. Mark Gordon allowed a new abortion ban to go into effect Sunday without his signature. Teton County District Court Judge Melissa Owens lifted the ban Wednesday after a hearing in which abortion rights advocates said the law harms pregnant women and their doctors and violates the state constitution. Owens suspended the ban for at least two weeks.
The ban prohibits abortion at all stages of pregnancy, except in cases of rape or incest reported to the police or to save a woman’s life. An amendment to the Wyoming constitution states that adults have the right to make their own decisions about health care, so Republicans enacted a ban that says abortion is not medical care.
Owens also blocked a previous ban shortly after it took effect last summer.
Before the last ban, a clinic in the mountain town of Jackson offered medical abortions.
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