Abortion foes protest at Stratford High

Meggan Clark , Register Staff 09/24/2004

STRATFORD — An anti-abortion group that targets high schools staged a protest outside Stratford High School Wednesday morning, angering parents and sparring verbally with officers, police said.

The group of about 20 people plans to stake out other area high schools in the future, said Stratford police spokesman Capt. Harvey Maxwell.

"They plan on doing a school a month," Maxwell said. "They did Stratford this month and they're going to do Bunnell (High School) next month."

No one was arrested and the demonstration ended peacefully at about 8 a.m. when the protesters packed up their signs and literature and hit the road, police said.

Police said they got several calls from parents who claimed the protestors were "harassing" students as they tried to get into the school. The protestors, armed with signs, banners and posters, handed out leaflets to passers-by in a manner some found aggressive, police said.

"People were saying that people would follow them along and try to give them something they don't want," Maxwell said. "Obviously this is a hot-button issue, whether it's pro-choice or anti-abortion."

Maxwell said a police supervisor driving by didn't see any sign of aggressive behavior.

But when Officer David Guggliotti was dispatched to investigate the complaints, he wrote in an incident report that he sparred verbally with the protest group's spokeswoman, a Milford resident.

The woman insisted that the protestors were not going to leave and told police to talk to her lawyer, Guggliotti said.

The group's vehicles were illegally parked in the road and there were pro-abortion signs in the road as well, leaning up against the cars, police said.

The protestors videotaped their exchanges with police andolice and school administrators, and demanded a copy of the incident report, police said.

The protest ended abruptly when the group's spokeswoman, after arguing with an officer, announced that the protesters were "done anyway."

Maxwell said that as long as the protestors are on public property, keep walking and aren't overly aggressive, they're within their rights to protest in front of the high school.

"As long as they stand on the public sidewalks they can hand out their brochures," Maxell said. "As long as they don't obstruct the sidewalk … as long as they don't harass the people, as long as they don't breach the peace."

He said the group's literature included leaflets, signs and pictures of a human fetus at various stages of development.

Milford police spokesman Officer Vaughan Dumas said the protesters haven't been to Milford yet. If they come, he said, they have the right to protest as long as they stay off school property.

Neither Town Manager Benjamin Branyan nor Superintendent of Schools Irene Cornish returned repeated telephone calls seeking comment Thursday.

The woman identified by police as the group's leader also did not return a phone call seeking comment.

Meggan Clark can be reached at 876-6800 or by e-mail at mclark@nhregister.com .

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