Charges Against Pro-Life Woman Dropped for Making Video Outside Planned Parenthood

Charges against pro-life activist Anastasia Rogers have been dropped after California prosecutors spent nearly a year pursuing her over a 14-second video recorded outside a Planned Parenthood clinic.

Rogers was arrested Dec. 18, 2025, on the public sidewalk in front of the Planned Parenthood facility at 1522 Bush Street while handing out pregnancy resource pamphlets.

She was charged under California’s Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act and Penal Code 423.2(g). Prosecutors alleged the Instagram reel she recorded was meant to intimidate clinic staff.

The state law makes it a crime to use force, the threat of force, or physical obstruction to interfere with someone seeking or providing reproductive health care. She faced up to two years in prison and was placed under a protective order that limited her sidewalk outreach.

But all Rogers did was hand out brochures and record a video following a trend online about having health conversations with others.

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On-duty security cited “threatening language” in one of her social media posts about her pro-life work as the reason for the arrest. In footage of the arrest, Rogers said, “There’s some chalk on the sidewalk. We have leaflets that have information [about] other resources in the neighborhood.” She said those materials included “phone numbers that people can contact if they need help about abortion pill reversal” and information “if they need counseling after an abortion.”

“There’s no intent to intimidate ever — we’re never intimidating people, we’re trying to help people,” Rogers said.

After the arrest, she said, “If Planned Parenthood thinks that throwing me in jail for 7 hours or 7 days is going to stop me from loving my neighbor — the preborn child — they’re wrong.”

The case went to a jury trial that lasted nearly two weeks and ended in a mistrial. Jurors voted 10-2 to acquit on one count and 9-3 to acquit on the other. The San Francisco district attorney’s office at first refused to drop the case and set it for retrial. The state later agreed to a three-month diversion, under which the charges would be dismissed if Rogers stayed out of legal trouble.

When that agreement was reached, Alexandra Snyder, chief executive of Life Legal Defense Foundation, which represented Rogers, said, “This is a tremendous answer to prayer and a very encouraging step forward. Anastasia should never have been dragged through a criminal trial for peaceful pro-life advocacy. We are grateful that she can return to the sidewalk and continue offering help, hope, and truth to women and their children alongside the Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust team.”

“This outcome shows that public pressure matters,” Snyder said. “When peaceful pro-life advocates are targeted by the government, Life Legal will continue to stand in the gap. We are thankful for every person who spoke up for Anastasia and helped make this result possible.”

The charges have now been dismissed, and the protective order has been lifted. Rogers can return to sidewalk counseling to save babies from abortion.

“Just over one year ago, I posted a 14-second Instagram reel. Yesterday, the FACE Act charges filed against me were dismissed,” Rogers wrote. “For a year, I watched my time, my energy, my First Amendment rights and for a part of that time, even my ability to sidewalk counsel, get dragged through the courts.”

“California took me to trial, and they couldn’t convict me,” she said. “They even wanted to try again but God had other plans. It’s over. We beat the FACE Act. Remember that God is faithful.”

She closed a video message by asking people to “pray for the women who walk through those doors” and “pray for the babies.”

The pro-life group Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust said Rogers “was arrested and was facing 2 years in prison for simply being pro life in a city and state that loves child sacrifice.” The group said that after almost two weeks of trial, “the completely pro-choice jury was unable to come to a unanimous decision so while the majority were saying NOT GUILTY a mistrial was declared.”

“Standing for life, especially in areas that are overwhelmingly anti-life, can be scary,” the group said. “The laws may not always be used to support you even when you are following them. But with God on our side, we can’t fail. He is our strength and His will be done — we have no reason to fear. Praise the Lord for such an amazing outcome.”