F.B.I. Investigates Suspicious Fire at Planned Parenthood Clinic in Missouri
The F.B.I. has opened an investigation into a fire at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Missouri last weekend that the Columbia Police Department said was suspicious.
The bureau, which is offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to a conviction, is looking into possible federal civil rights violations under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. That law makes it a crime to intentionally damage or prevent access to services at reproductive health centers.
According to the Police Department, someone wearing dark clothing was seen on security footage walking toward the Columbia Health Center shortly after 4 a.m. Sunday, and later retreating as smoke rose from the building. The fire was extinguished by the sprinkler system before firefighters arrived. No one was in the building at the time.
A spokeswoman for the Federal Bureau of Investigation said Wednesday that it did not have any additional information about the fire that it could release.
“The circumstances surrounding the fire are coming into focus, and it is clear that this was an intentional effort to damage our facility in order to disrupt services and block patient access to sexual and reproductive health care,” Dr. Brandon J. Hill, the president and chief executive of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, which oversees the Columbia center, said in a statement.
The clinic had been one of two places in the state offering abortion services, but was forced to stop last fall when its sole doctor was unable to get the necessary permissions to comply with new restrictions in Missouri that require abortion providers to obtain admitting privileges at nearby hospitals.
According to Planned Parenthood, the only facility that performs abortions in Missouri is in the St. Louis area.
The health center, which offers family planning, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, cancer screenings and other services, is currently closed, according to Planned Parenthood’s statement, and is working to reopen next week.
“Make no mistake — we are committed to providing care in the Columbia community, and this crime will not deter us from our mission,” Dr. Hill said. “Our patients rely on us each day, and with a strong community of supporters beside us, we will reopen our doors as soon as possible.”
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