Wellspring Health Access clinic in Casper, Wyoming, was attacked by arsonists in 2022 before it even saw one patient. The damage delayed the opening, but didn’t stop it. Courageous doctors, staff and supporters kept moving forward to open the state’s only facility offering surgical abortions.
In August, Katie Knutter, Executive Director of Wellspring, outlined the tribulations surrounding abortion and reproductive care at an online forum hosted by the National Mobilization for Reproductive Justice, a coalition initiated by Radical Women. (Watch the program here.)
Setting up shop
Knutter had years of previous experience as an abortion provider in Kansas and Oklahoma. She explained how the decision to open a clinic in a hostile, underserved area was due to an intentional priority on aiding those who have the least access.
Wellspring clients have come from across the U.S.
Wellspring has assisted patients from all around Wyoming and across 19 states. Many clients are young, low-income, rural, or members of oppressed communities such as immigrants and Native Americans.
The clinic provides medication abortions, family planning, gynecological exams, and gender-affirming care. It offers procedural abortions as late as 23 weeks, which is considered “late term.” Patients may need a procedural abortion for medical complications or if they can’t access care by the 11-week cutoff for medication abortions.
Though Knutter characterized Wyoming as a place where most believe the state should stay out of an individual’s private business, this has not, unfortunately, included women’s healthcare. “Abortion access is punted around like a political football, and it’s on the backs of the women and the people who need abortion care,” stated Wellspring founder Julie Burkhart in a Time magazine interview. Clinic leaders are fighting to preserve that care through activism on legislative, court, community, media, and educational fronts.
Legal battles continue
After the Supreme Court tossed Roe v. Wade, a Wyoming law went into effect that said life begins at conception. Wellspring and others successfully challenged this in court.
State legislators, overwhelmingly Republican, continued to pass laws aimed at closing Wellspring and ending most if not all abortions in the state. These included banning Mifepristone, the pill used in medication abortions, forcing patients to come to the office for unneeded ultrasounds, and imposing medically unnecessary parameters on the clinic set-up. The worst of the laws have been held at bay as appeals are dealt with by the courts.
A crucial court decision will test how abortion fares in light of the Wyoming state constitution, which mandates that “each competent adult shall have the right to make his or her own health care decisions.” (An amendment originally passed in opposition to the Affordable Care Act.)
Does reproductive care count as health care? As of November 2025, a decision from Wyoming’s Supreme Court is pending. Supporters are cautiously optimistic for a favorable ruling.
In the meantime, the clinic remains open, proudly serving a wide range of people and providing them reproductive choices. A salute to the Wellsprings Health Access crew and their quest to keep abortion legal and available in Wyoming.
Visit wellspringaccess.org for updates and ways to help.
