How awful for those students to have to see that on their first day back at school. Shame on those demonstrators!

These demonstrators are terrorist. Any cause that uses fear and murder to get their message a cross is not better than Hitler or Saddam. How dare these demonstrators destroy my child's first day of school.

I believe the word you are looking for is terrorist. You compare us to terrorists, but we are not the ones killing 115,000 babies every single day in the womb.

Our children are greeted by the real terrorists, sanctioned by the school and paid for with our money. The real terrorist is Planned Parenthood who teaches "safe sex" to our children, which results in unwanted pregnancies and abortion.

The least we can do as responsible parents is help our children understand the truth of abortion so that they and our unborn grandchildren don't become just another statistic.

I saw the "reporter" who took these photos, a woman who was positioned on the other side of the street, who took the time to get statements from everyone except us, the so-called "terrorist", as identified by the person above. The reporter could have done her job and reported this story accurately and without bias, but instead chose to ignore us and fabricate her own story about what happened yesterday.

The officers did not ask us to move off of school property as she says they did. We were standing on legal, public ground and though the officers fished through 4 manuals for over an hour, they could find no reason to push us away from our right to freedom of speech.

They did though illegally demand our ID cards, which they don't and can't even do when confronted with potential illegal aliens.

So I ask the Rockville Patch, where was your reporter when it came time to report the whole story? I believe the media is supposed to pursue who, what, when, why, how and where, not "how can we shape this story to make these people look bad".

Where was your reporter when it came time to ask us why we did what we did and why the officers were spending so much time trying to take away our constitutional rights?

Obviously the Rockville Patch is not a real paper, it is a rag distributed to people who think alike, people who believe that anyone who thinks differently than them should be oppressed, should be condemned and should be isolated as extremists.

Peter, the truth that you ignore about abortion is that those photos that you use are not accurate. They are more than 30 years old and most abortions never EVER result in fetuses that look like that. Most are quietly aborted in doctor's offices with the use of medication.

If you were really interested in the truth and in dialogue, you would NOT be parading such hideous photos in front of middle schoolers on the first day of school. TIme, place and materials all completely inappropriate and insensitive. Your side should consider how this kind of harassment does nothing to support your position--it only serves to paint you as insensitive, out of touch and perhaps psychological terrorists.

I tangled with your group when you pulled this stunt at RM. At least RM is a high school. I echo the others: shame on you during the first day of school and shame on you targeting middle schoolers.

And I have to laugh: safe sex--which means birth control--does not result in unwanted births. Quite the opposite! That's just too funny! If you're really one of those "teach abstinence only," you're more pitiable and out of touch than I thought. I also give no credence to men in this debate at all--unless you're a physician. Most of these anti-abortion protesters are retired upper income white men who never had to face a decision about birth control, let alone abortion. Please go golfing, sir, and let the kids have a nice day at school.

Folks --

We enjoy lively debates on Patch, but there are limits to what is acceptable. Here are our Terms of Use: http://rockville.patch.com/terms and by my read, calling each other terrorist or pitiable comes awfully close to violating them. Can we continue this discussion in a civil manner?

I do not support what this group did at a middle school. However the term "Anti-Abortion" should not be used unless the other side is called Pro Abortion. Pro Life is the label these groups prefer. If you are going to use Anti-Abortion then you should label the opposition Pro Abortion instead of Pro Choice. This changing of terms is a bias that makes the media appear less objective.

The "other side" isn't pro-abortion. We aren't "ant-pro-life." We are pro-choice. Have an abortion, don't have an abortion. In this country it's your choice. Pro-life is an unwarranted term. Anti-abortion is accurate.

This issue is more about who has the right to tell another person what to do. It is very sensitive and personal. I oppose using tax dollars to fund abortions. This subject has been debated for years. There is no changing my opinion and I will try not to change another person's opinion.

Theresa Defino - clearly you know nothing about the Pro-Life Movement. The majority are NOT upper class white men....wow not even close. Actually a growing number of pro-lifers are very young and I can tell you the truly dedicated pro-lifers don't have the luxury of being wealthy. You condemn Peter about getting his facts straight...so think about yours. I also think it's ridiculous when women don't think men have a right to discuss abortion. He helped make that baby, it is his just as much as the woman's. I personally have been through childbirth...painful yes, but beautiful as well and something my husband will never get to experience. I don't consider our daughter mine more than his. Men have every right to be upset about abortion of their children.

I'm curious why the demonstrators chose this location. Why parade pictures this graphic in front of a bunch of middle school students just returning to school? How unsettling, especially for those students who are nervous about their first day of middle school. If you want to demonstrate in front of an abortion clinic, that's your choice as long as you're doing it legally and not harassing those who choose to visit the clinic. But demonstrating in front of a middle school just seems like incredibly poor judgment/taste.

WOW! with a description like that it must a lot of courage to go through an abortion. Having an abortion shows more compassion to know whether one is able to provide a LIFETIME of love and care to another human. Yes, there are other options like adoption. How many unwanted kids have you adopted??? There are currently more than 200 children just in Montgomery Co. protective services who need loving homes. When there are no more unwanted children in Mont Co and else where, we can talk about ending abortion. Until then, abortion needs to be kept safe and available to any woman/couple who has the courage to under such a procedure.

I must say that I have always enjoyed reading the Patch, however yesterday’s article was grossly inaccurate. First, it should be noted the Pro-Life advocates standing outside Robert Frost Middle School are only providing the other side of the argument regarding the sanctity of human life. In Montgomery County Schools, children and young adults are inundated with government sponsored social engineering on subjects ranging from contraception and abortion to gender identity and same sex marriage. The students never hear the whole truth, but some of the real truth was provided today. I wonder why all of the parents and individuals shouted profanities and insults at the peaceful Pro-Life advocates who gathered outside of the school. Do they express their anger in the same way when those very same students view exceptionally graphic images of the Holocaust that appear in government provided school text books. Do they shout insults and profanities at the teachers when Planned Parenthood comes to the MCPS campuses to distribute condoms or when their 1st grader comes home from school with a book titled "Daddy Has a Roommate" or Heather has Two Mommies". The Montgomery County Police Department attempted to illegally harass and intimidate those advocates yesterday. They brought out 4 separate law and code books in an attempt to deny them their constitutionally guaranteed first amendment rights. The vigil today was scheduled from 7am - 8:30am, and it ended exactly on schedule.

I am very curious about the coverage of this event and how it was reported. At a minimum there seems to be some holes in the story and how it is being presented. Shouldn't be that way, unless "Patch" simply wants to be recognized as only showing one side of an issue. I like "Patch", I think it serves a useful purpose in the community, but at the same time that same community is filled with different viewpoints and they ALL have value. The idealogy of a reporter should not come into play.....it does a disservice.

I spoke with the Maryland Catholic Conference and Maryland Right to Life, Inc. This afternoon. Neither of their spokespeople were familiar with the demonstration at Robert Frost Middle School yesterday. Here's what they had to say about the selection of sites for demonstrations by their groups:

"We don't demonstrate. We are an advocacy arm for the Maryland Catholic Bishops. Most of our work is here in Annapolis, meeting with lobbyists and legislators. We do help the three dioceses that are in Maryland and we don assist them in their educational outreach effort but it's to parishioners in the pew." Kathy Dempsey, Spokesperson, Maryland Catholic Conference.

"Our mission has more of a legislative focus. We are not involved in demonstrations." Jeffrey Meister, Director of Administration and Legislation, Maryland Right to Life, Inc.

Think for one minute of the trauma, both physical and emotional that the kids in protective care have gone through and will continue to endure their whole life even with "therapy". These kids are some of the lucky ones. How you might ask? They are still ALIVE. These kids were lucky enough to be removed from a "barbaric" situation. I can think of one little girl who was not so lucky. CAYLEE ANTHONY. Which barbaric act do you think Caylee would have chosen given the fact that she is dead?

As for MCPS, when my first grader came home with Daddy has a room mate and Heather has two mommies, I HAD TO SIGN A PERMISSION FORM, agreeing to have this material presented to my child. That's the big difference. Those protesters took away MY CHOICE. We live in America, land of the free. Free to choose, choose how and when or IF I want such delicate issues presented to MY child. There is a time and place for all this debate, but the first day of school. Really? You've just proven that "Nothing Is Sacred".

I think you guys are on to something, murder is certainly wrong and whilst it it is debatable whether or not the fetus has rights, killing it seems a waste. And since most of these mothers can't support the children, it seems the current system is dreadfully inefficient. I say that those who would have been aborted ought to be raised by the state, where they can grow up to be civil service workers and politicians. By having them serve the state, it mitigates the cost of raising them that is put on the tax payer, after all, if they were with their 'mother' they would most likely be on welfare. And while it is tempting to raise them as atheists to enhance their hold on logic and science, and to preserve church and state separation as based in the constitution, I think it is probably people's moral duty to raise them Christian. That way they can serve as the moral guardians of the state, Christian Soldiers, if you will. Thus, not only are lives saved, they actually enrich their society. Since abortion is a waste of human life and we can hardly eat the children of the poor, we might as well make use of them by turning them into ideal citizens.

Gina Hagler
5:13pm on Tuesday, August 30, 2011
The terms I use are anti-abortion and pro-abortion, since the issue that's up for discussion is abortion.

Sorry, Gina. You're wrong and that isn't the style for journalism. There is no such thing as "pro-abortion." Please use pro-choice and even pro-life if you choose. But "pro-abortion" is ridiculous and inaccurate.

Rachel
2:43pm on Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Your comment:
"Sure, he's got some input if in the a stable relationship, but what about in the case of rape? At the end of the day, over the course of the next ~ 9 months, it's a woman's body, hers alone, that goes through all the changes, sometimes at the risk of her own life, to form this potential new child, while the man merely holds your hand while you painfully push "

"potential" stable relationship? I don't think anyone here is arguing that in the case of rape or if the health of the "potential Mother" is in question then an abortion might be prudent.
I've seen the number thrown around of 115K babies killed everyday. If true, that's an awful lot of "potential" children killed.....stable relationship or not! Kind of "barbaric" don't you think?

I said input in the "debate." Like much else I said, that was taken out of context. If the man wants to be part of the woman's personal decision-making, that's her choice--and his. But I don't give any credence to men who protest and picket against choice. That's what I said.

Rachel said: "I don't care if one of them has a father who performs abortions, you are a vile piece of work if you think this does anything to help your cause."

I agree with you. However, that earlier assertion--which even gave a name--has been removed from this site. It was false. But it does show the mindset of this group and they didn't even have the right target. Even worse.

Peter and all the other protesters, as I drove in to school to walk down to Wootton, I was astonished at what I saw. I saw protesters holding a poster of a fetus (not a dead child, as it was never born) that if it had a movie rating, would be rated R. It was disgusting, I have nothing against your freedom of speech, but I do have something against violating these students and parents rights. That material is disturbing, and to have an 11 year old see it on their first day of school is just traumatizing. So fine go protest, prostest to adults, lawmakers, the president, college students, but do not go and violate innocent 6th graders on their first day of school. You showed them something that they learn in health class with their parents permission, you forced them to see something without their parents permission. And I am sure your speech could be unprotected by the first amendment because of the emotional and mental harm that you are causing.

Rachel
4:32pm on Wednesday, August 31, 2011
"YOUR COMMENT"
Barbaric is forcing all women and girls to carry pregnancies to term. Are you aware of the reasons why women would go to Dr. Tiller? It's not because they simply changed their minds at the last minute. Barbaric is sticking YOUR nose into the reproductive business of women you don't know. Barbaric is hanging out outside middle schools harassing children with disgusting, misleading propaganda. I don't care if one of them has a father who performs abortions, you are a vile piece of work if you think this does anything to help your cause. Your disrespect for other people's children only proves that it's not actual life that you care about.

Thanks for the name calling and personal attacks, another trait used by the abortion supporters. So it appears you are trying to "compare" which cause is more barbaric than the other. I will agree with you on this point though, I would NOT have held a protest at the school or any school for that matter. That was a mistake, but on the bright side........no children were killed. As for barbaric behavior, I stand by my earlier statement. Check the definition of barbarism.........abortion fits the mold.

This group is a tiny minority of religious zealots. Thier own powerlessness is why they chose to accost middle school students on the first day of school. This is what bullies do. They seek easier and easier targets because they are afraid that in a fair and reasoned debate they invariably lose. Our society may take some comfort in the fact that groups such as this and the Fred Phelps cult have so little sway in our modern world.

I am curious about the folks who participated in this protest, esp. since Patch could not find out who they were.

Peter--are you Jack Ames, or are you affiliated with Jack Ames, of defendlife.org? 
If not, please tell us who you are.

Is it a coincidence that your page "Face the Truth Tour" uses the exact same poster images that appear in the Patch story here?

Do your tactics now include targeting middle schools and under the circumstances you chose (first day of school, for maximum attention and disruption to students, parents and staff?

What exactly do you consider it your right to do, in terms your protests? What is your opinion on violence, such as the murder of Dr. Tiller?

Do you or Jack have children in school yourself?

I'd really like some information so I can try to better understand.

Here's the website:
http://www.defendlife.org

Defend Life, btw, says it does not target children.

..."But children shouldn't see these images..."

"Please note that our target audience is not children, but adults who do not realize how horrifying abortion is. Yet it is not possible to completely avoid having children see the images."

Going directly to a school would seem to violate this principle as it is surely more than an inadvertent exposure tactic, as well as a practice that folks on both sides of the issue find deplorable.

Theresa why are you so obsessed with Peter's identity? He has no reason to "lift the veil" as you demand. Who do you think you are?

Personally I would not have chosen to demonstrate at any school (outside of a college) but the group that did show up at Frost broke no laws and were well within their rights. I have daughters and one has been through Frost. She has been educated on this topic and wouldn't have been "traumatized".

Why do pro-lifers hide who they are? That's the question.
Two posts asking who the group was behind this is not an obsession. They must be ashamed of what they did or else they'd take credit for it.