(Left) Greater than 100 folks have been attending weekly anti-abortion prayer vigils outdoors the positioning of a future Casper, Wyo., clinic providing abortion and different well being care providers. (Proper) Abortion-rights supporter Rikki Hayes holds up an indication close to the positioning of a Wellspring Well being Entry clinic.
Arielle Zionts/KHN
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(Left) Greater than 100 folks have been attending weekly anti-abortion prayer vigils outdoors the positioning of a future Casper, Wyo., clinic providing abortion and different well being care providers. (Proper) Abortion-rights supporter Rikki Hayes holds up an indication close to the positioning of a Wellspring Well being Entry clinic.
Arielle Zionts/KHN
A modest, tan constructing sandwiched between a fuel station and a small condominium home close to downtown Casper, Wy., has change into an surprising point of interest of America’s abortion debate, simply weeks earlier than Wyoming might outlaw the process.
Inside, a nonprofit is renovating the house right into a clinic that, starting in June, could be the one one in Wyoming to supply procedural abortions. The Casper clinic additionally would change into the closest choice for folks in what the nonprofit’s founders describe as an “abortion desert,” extending into western Nebraska and South Dakota.
Outdoors, on a current Thursday, greater than 100 abortion opponents gathered for a prayer vigil on the sidewalk alongside a busy five-lane road. A smaller group of vocal abortion-rights advocates assembled close by.
The protest teams congregate weekly as work to open the clinic continues, regardless of an imminent U.S. Supreme Courtroom determination anticipated to reverse constitutional protections for abortion rights supplied by the landmark 1973 case Roe v. Wade. A not too long ago handed “set off regulation” in Wyoming would take impact days after such a ruling, banning most abortions within the state.
Teenagers, younger adults, dad and mom with young children, and seniors silently held indicators emblazoned with Bible verses or slogans, reminiscent of “Abortion hurts ladies,” throughout the current vigil.
Close by a gaggle of teenagers had been chanting “My physique, my selection.” A number of drivers passing by honked in help of the anti-abortion group or yelled expletives and, “It is my physique!”
The opposing teams of demonstrators do not see eye to eye on a lot, however they appeared to agree on one factor: They’re stunned the clinic is opening in Wyoming, an overwhelmingly Republican state the place 70% of voters supported Donald Trump within the 2020 presidential election — the very best proportion of any state.
“I by no means thought I might see an abortion clinic come to Wyoming, not to mention Casper, simply because it’s extra conservative,” 39-year-old Robin Holmes mentioned throughout the vigil.
Holmes wore a customized T-shirt and held a home made poster, each saying “Unborn Lives Matter.” She mentioned her daughter grew to become pregnant in her teenagers however determined towards abortion and is now elevating the kid.
Rikki Hayes, who helps the brand new clinic, discovered a bit of cardboard on her technique to the vigil and held it up after writing “Thoughts your personal enterprise!” “I did not assume in one million years that we, in Casper, would ever get one. We’re in Wyoming,” mentioned Hayes, a 21-year-old espresso store supervisor.
The long run web site of the Wellspring Wyoming Well being Entry clinic is a residential-style constructing sandwiched between a fuel station and a small condominium home close to downtown Casper, Wyoming.
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The long run web site of the Wellspring Wyoming Well being Entry clinic is a residential-style constructing sandwiched between a fuel station and a small condominium home close to downtown Casper, Wyoming.
Arielle Zionts/KHN
The thought to open a clinic in Casper got here from Wyoming activist Christine Lichtenfels. She shared her suggestion with Julie Burkhart, a Colorado resident and veteran of the nationwide abortion-rights motion
The one different Wyoming clinic providing abortions is in Jackson, a five-hour drive west of Casper and close to the Idaho border. It gives solely treatment abortions as much as 10 weeks of gestation.
“I simply thought, ‘Gosh, why cannot we get one thing in Casper?’ It is the proper location, just about within the middle,” Lichtenfels mentioned.
Burkhart agreed and based the nonprofit Wellspring Well being Entry in Might 2021 to open the clinic and plan different tasks geared toward increasing entry to abortion. Lichtenfels is an legal professional and board member of Chelsea’s Fund, a nonprofit that gives monetary help for Wyoming residents searching for abortions. She mentioned taking a day or extra to journey to an appointment creates logistical and monetary burdens for many individuals.
“You might have a job, possibly you’ve got received youngsters, so you have to discover child care,” Lichtenfels mentioned. “Perhaps you do not have an excellent automobile, possibly you do not have a automobile. Or possibly the roads are closed.”
Casper, with a inhabitants of about 59,000, is a three- or four-hour drive north or south from the closest clinics — one in Billings, Montana, and one other in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is also comparatively near areas of neighboring states with out abortion providers.
Some folks in western South Dakota searching for abortions now drive 5 hours to clinics in Montana or Colorado. In the event that they keep inside South Dakota, they have to journey 4 hours to Sioux Falls, the place they face a three-day ready interval. When organizers started planning the clinic, Wyoming had fewer abortion restrictions than many different Republican-controlled states.
Wyoming permits abortion as much as viability (about 24 weeks) and has no ban on telemedicine abortions. It has no mandated ready interval, does not require docs to learn particular info to sufferers, and does not require sufferers to view an ultrasound. Nonetheless, the state remained largely devoid of abortion providers.
Then, in March, Wyoming grew to become the thirteenth state to move a “set off regulation.” The regulation would make abortions unlawful 5 days after Roe v. Wade is overturned, with exceptions in circumstances of pregnancies involving rape, incest, or threat to the mom’s life.
Related legal guidelines are on the books in Idaho, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Utah. Coverage watchers count on Montana and Nebraska lawmakers additionally will pursue abortion bans. Meaning many ladies and different pregnant folks searching for abortion from this area would want to drive or fly to different states for abortion providers if Roe v. Wade is overturned.
It doesn’t matter what the U.S. Supreme Courtroom decides, the general public debate will proceed in Wyoming, either side say.
Burkhart mentioned authorized challenges might sluggish Wyoming’s set off regulation from taking impact. Even when the state outlaws abortion, she hopes the clinic will keep open to supply its different providers, reminiscent of gynecology, testing for sexually transmitted infections, household planning, and gender-affirming take care of LGBTQ+ sufferers.
She additionally expects Wellspring Well being Entry will discover methods to assist folks in states with abortion bans discover providers in neighboring states, together with opening clinics close to state borders or bringing cell clinics or telemedicine providers to these areas.
Burkhart mentioned it could even be doable to convey cell clinics into states with abortion bans, to display, prep, and enroll folks for out-of-state appointments.
Native anti-abortion activists say that even when Wyoming bans abortion, their marketing campaign will not finish. Bob Brechtel is a Republican former state legislator who helps set up the weekly prayer vigils outdoors the Casper clinic.
“Rule of regulation is vital, however what’s extra vital is that we do have people who find themselves accepting and understanding of our objective to defend human life in any respect phases,” he mentioned.
KHN (Kaiser Well being Information) is a nationwide newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about well being points. It is an editorially unbiased working program of Kaiser Household Basis.
