Wellspring Health Access Has Begun Offering Free Plan B
Wellspring Health Access (WHA), which plans to open a clinic in Casper sometime next year, has begun offering free Plan B in the mail to anyone who requests it.
Julie Burkhart, the president of WHA, said that they've shipped out a few dozen orders so far out of their initial supply of 250, and hope to be able to send them over the next few months.
Burkhart said that while they've sent Plan B to people across the country, most of it has been sent to people in Wyoming in cities like Casper, Cheyenne, and Laramie.
WHA planned to open a clinic in Casper in June, however, due to someone starting a fire and damaging the interior, they've had to delay the opening until the repairs are completed.
The clinic plans to provide abortion services when it opens, as well as gender-affirming care and Plan B, which Burkhart said should be in the first quarter of 2023, as they recently finished gutting the interior.
While Burkhart said they still hope to provide abortions when the clinic opens, it still remains to be seen whether or not abortion will be legal in the state, as a case WHA is involved in is still making its way through the courts.
A judge in August blocked Wyoming's trigger law, which would have banned abortion in the state after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, with a follow-up hearing planned for Oct. 27.
Burkhart said that much of the medical staff that originally signed up to start working in June are still ready to get started when the clinic does eventually open.
"I believe we still have a number of physicians lined up and ready to go," Burkhart said. "We still have some of the medical staff, non-physicians staff, and administrative staff, who are wanting to join us when we're ready. And I then anticipate that we'll need to advertise for other staff potentially. But some of those folks who had been hired, are still wanting to work with us. I'm hoping that they will still be available, but people's lives change, so we'll see. But we're definitely keeping in contact with people and letting them know how everything is progressing...But we have people that are very committed and that's good."
People can send an email to hello@wellspringaccess.org with their name and mailing address to request the free Plan B.