CHEYENNE, Wyo~ A college student who officials say set fire to Wyoming’s only full-service abortion clinic pleaded not guilty to arson in federal court on Friday. After quietly addressing the judge’s queries about whether she understood the procedures and what crime she was indicted for, Lorna Roxanne Green, 22, entered her plea. She said “no” when asked if she had any mental or physical issues that would make it hard to understand what was happening as her father watched from the front row of court.
Court filings state that Green burned the Wellspring Health Access clinic in Casper, Wyoming, because she opposed abortion and was anxious and having dreams about it. After the court hearing, Green’s lawyer, Ryan Semerad, declined to comment on the detectives’ confession. He said he has to review the interaction with officials and the rest of the case’s evidence.
On May 25, 2022, Green shattered the clinic’s window, filled aluminum baking pans with gasoline, and set it on fire. The fire damaged the clinic, which had garnered anti-abortion demonstrators, and delayed its opening until March. The clinic is Wyoming’s only surgical abortion clinic in at least a decade. According to the clinic, it provides abortion drugs, women’s health care, family planning, and gender-affirming health care.
A women’s health center in Jackson, 250 miles (400 kilometers) away, was Wyoming’s only medication abortion clinic when Wellspring opened. Despite a law barring abortion except in cases of rape or incest reported to authorities or when the mother’s life is in danger, conservative Wyoming allows abortion. While an opposing lawsuit proceeds, a state judge halted the ban.
Wyoming became the first state to explicitly ban abortion pills, which have been legal for decades and are the most common method of abortion in the U.S. July 1 is the ban’s start date. After the Casper facility fire, authorities revealed surveillance footage of a masked lady in a hooded shirt at the clinic. When the prize was raised to $15,000, tipsters listed Green as a suspect, but she wasn’t caught until March. Green’s trial was scheduled for July 24 by Chief Magistrate Judge Kelly Rankin. If convicted, she risks 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
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