America’s unlikeliest abortion clinic has opened in its reddest state

By Karin Brulliard
June 16, 2023 at 5:00 a.m. EDT



Abortion opponents protest in front of the new Wellspring Health Access clinic in Casper, Wyo., the only facility in the state that provides surgical abortions. (Rachel Woolf/For The Washington Post)

CASPER, Wyo. — The new Wellspring Health Access clinic is unremarkable inside: Walls painted in soft hues, Ms. magazines in the waiting room, cabinets filled with medical supplies. ... But the story behind those white cabinets is anything but ordinary. The original ones were destroyed in May 2022, when an arsonist torched the facility shortly before it was to begin seeing patients. The damage set back Wellspring’s opening by a year — and sent an unmistakable message about the hostile terrain outside what may be the unlikeliest abortion clinic in the country.

Since news of the Supreme Court’s pending reversal of Roe v. Wade leaked last spring, followed weeks later by the justices’ ruling, abortion in conservative states has been marked by retrenchment. Dozens of facilities stopped providing abortions, closed or moved to friendlier states because of bans or anticipated bans. Just one new clinic opened in a state targeting the procedure, according to research by professor Caitlin Myers of Middlebury College. That was Wellspring, which finally began offering surgical and medication abortions in late April.

Most of Wyoming is an abortion desert, and most lawmakers in America’s reddest state — having passed laws restricting nearly all abortions as well as the nation’s first explicit prohibition on abortion pills — want to finish the job. Many residents support their effort: Authorities say the 22-year-old woman accused of setting fire to Wellspring told them she opposed abortion. Casper’s mayor says he believes abortion providers will go to hell.

Yet with the state’s restrictions tied up in court, Wellspring’s small stucco building represents a dramatic abortion standoff and a stark expansion of abortion services in a region of wide-open range and sky. ... Wyoming’s only other provider, 280 miles away in Jackson, offers just abortion pills. Wellspring’s four physicians already have seen patients from South Dakota, Utah and Nebraska, neighboring states with limited or no abortion services. The clinic serves a dozen patients a week on average. Nearly half receive abortions, the rest reproductive health care.

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Many women wanting abortions travel long distances to Casper, including from other states, since Wellspring is one of the region's few providers. (Rachel Woolf/For The Washington Post)

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By Karin Brulliard
Karin Brulliard is a Colorado-based national reporter covering the American West. Previously, she was an international news editor; a foreign correspondent in South Africa, Pakistan and Israel; and a local reporter. Brulliard joined The Post in 2003. Twitter https://twitter.com/karinbrulliard