Controversial Woman Receives Lenient Sentence After Arson Attack on Abortion Clinic

UPDATE


Sep 29, 2023 12:26 PM CDT

In a shocking development, a woman has been sentenced to five years in prison for setting fire to Wyoming’s first full-service abortion clinic in over a decade. Lorna Roxanne Green, only 22 years old, will also be required to pay restitution in excess of $280,000, according to US District Judge Alan Johnson. The arson, which occurred in 2022 and delayed the clinic’s opening for almost a year, could have led to a maximum sentence of 20 years. Judge Johnson took into account Green’s past emotional and physical abuse by her parents when issuing the minimum sentence.

Apr 20, 2023 5:45 PM CDT

With a defiant spirit, Wyoming’s first full-service abortion provider reopened its doors on Thursday, nearly a year after a destructive arson attack. Despite the imminent threat of stringent abortion restrictions, the clinic in downtown Casper stood strong. It is located just a short distance away from Interstate 25, where anti-abortion billboards sporadically dot the otherwise sparsely populated landscape. The clinic endured a disheartening setback last May, when an individual broke a window, filled aluminum pans with gasoline, and set them ablaze. Authorities revealed that the perpetrator, who has since been arrested, was motivated by opposition to abortion and anxiety surrounding the clinic’s opening.

Following the completion of extensive repairs, Wellspring Health Access can now resume providing both abortion-pill and surgical abortions—albeit temporarily. On Friday, the US Supreme Court is set to deliver a pivotal ruling on one of the two drugs used in pill abortions. Wyoming recently became the first state to enact a specific ban on abortion pills, which have grown in popularity for terminating pregnancies in recent years. Up until now, the only other clinic offering medication abortions in Wyoming was a women’s health center located 250 miles away in Jackson, further exacerbating the limited options for Wyoming women seeking abortion services. According to Wellspring, it has been over a decade since a dedicated Wyoming clinic has offered surgical abortions.

Despite the challenges, access to abortion in Wyoming has never completely vanished. State medical professionals reported a minimum of 88 medication abortions in 2020, followed by 98 in 2021, based on the latest data from the Wyoming Department of Health. Nevertheless, these numbers do not encompass the full extent of abortion in Wyoming, as countless women choose to travel to neighboring states like Colorado for the procedure. Additionally, the figures do not include medication abortions carried out without medical supervision at home. With its reopening, Wellspring Health Access will immediately begin accepting appointments for services that have been scarce for Wyoming women in recent years, as reported by the AP. The clinic wasted no time reopening once it obtained a city occupancy permit.

(Read more abortion stories.)