A San Francisco anti-abortion activist is scheduled to go to trial next week in a case testing where protest ends and intimidation begins outside clinics.
The case centers on Anastasia Rogers, a member of the group Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust, who was charged with violating the California FACE Act after posting a social media video with a caption that read “Unalive Them” over an image of a clinic volunteer who helps patients safely enter and leave the San Francisco Planned Parenthood site, often guiding them past demonstrators.
The video uses a format common on TikTok and other social media platforms in which a person reaches toward the camera as if offering a handshake before it cuts to a punchline or reveal. In the September post, Rogers’ handshake gesture is paired with the caption “Unalive them with kindness” before cutting to a close-up of the escort paired with the caption “Unalive them.”
The person depicted in the video filed a complaint with Planned Parenthood and the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, according to two other volunteer escorts who spoke with the Public Press.
A video posted on Rogers’ social media account shows her being arrested outside the clinic in December 2025, after officers determined she had an outstanding warrant related to the case. She is now under a court-issued protective order requiring her to stay 150 feet away from the clinic.
Rogers faces charges under California’s Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which makes it illegal to film or share images of clinic workers, volunteers or patients near an abortion clinic if prosecutors can show the images were intended to intimidate and caused fear.
Based on public statements, she appears poised to frame the case as a free-speech and “sidewalk counseling” case rather than one involving intimidation. In podcast interviews and social media posts, she repeatedly described herself as “peacefully advocating,” and providing “sidewalk counseling” and helping women with resources. She accuses Planned Parenthood and prosecutors of targeting activists for their beliefs.
Her attorney, Allison Aranda, director of criminal litigation for the Life Legal Defense Foundation, declined to comment. Greg Zaffino, who is representing the District Attorney’s Office in the case, did not respond to a request for comment.
Abortion protections expand, gaps remain
At a January 2026 rally marking the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, officials including District Attorney Brooke Jenkins warned that harassment remains a persistent issue even in jurisdictions with strong legal protections.
“We know there are laws that protect our rights to access this care, yet far too often we see those rights violated,” Jenkins said. “People are harassed, stalked and threatened simply for seeking or providing care.”
San Francisco’s own clinic-access protections are grounded in local, state and federal law. City leaders moved to strengthen them following increasingly aggressive anti-abortion activity in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which ended the constitutional right to abortion nationwide.
In October 2024, the Board of Supervisors passed legislation to expand buffer zones around reproductive health clinics, citing an increase in harassment and intimidation of patients and providers, including nearly 30 security confrontations over a three-month period at the San Francisco Planned Parenthood site.
The ordinance imposes a 100-foot zone around clinic entrances within which it is prohibited to follow or harass people, shout or use amplified sound. It also requires San Francisco police officers to receive training on reproductive healthcare access laws, including clinic buffer zone rules, harassment restrictions and enforcement of the city’s abortion access protections.
In November 2024, San Francisco voters also passed Proposition O, which codified the city’s role as a sanctuary for reproductive healthcare.
But complaints from current and former San Francisco Planned Parenthood volunteer escorts raise questions about whether those protections are being enforced. The escorts said they routinely witnessed aggressive behavior outside the Bush Street clinic, including protesters shouting at patients within the protective zone. They said clinic security staff told them they did not bother reporting problems to authorities.
“The feedback I’ve gotten from security is like, ‘Yeah, well, if we call the police, the police won’t do anything,’” said a volunteer escort who asked to withhold her name over fears of retaliation.
Robert Ruerca, a San Francisco Police Department public information officer, said police have responded to “numerous” calls for service at the Planned Parenthood from “multiple parties.”
“Officers take statements, interview individuals in all sides of any incident, and determine whether standards of probable cause are met to issue citations and/or make arrests,” Ruerca wrote in an email. “SFPD will always enforce the law and work to keep the public safe.”
Planned Parenthood did not respond to a request for comment.
The escort described an “elderly” anti-abortion activist who frequently stood by the clinic entrance calling out to patients as they entered and exited the building. She said patients responded to the protestor in various ways — hurrying past her to enter the clinic, cursing at her, giving her the middle finger or insisting, “I’m not killing any babies.”
She recalled one young woman who was so distressed by the protester that escorts needed to help her walk out of the clinic while shielding her. The escort said that despite what she viewed as clear violations of the city’s protective zone rules, security staff told her the woman protesting was tolerated because she was elderly, frail and even “sometimes falls asleep.”
The escort said that concern over fueling anti-abortion activists’ narrative might contribute to hesitation around stronger enforcement or confrontation, even when patients appear distressed.
That is especially true with groups like Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust that are heavily focused on filming interactions and posting videos to social media, the escort said. Referring to the pending criminal case against Rogers, she said protesters appeared eager to “put themselves in a position of victimhood.” But the escort said nevertheless she believes that Planned Parenthood needs to do more to protect patients and volunteers from aggressive protest activity there.
“Worrying about how you’re perceived online, putting priority on that is concerning,” she said, especially as patients come from out of state, now that abortion bans are expanding across the country. At the January rally, city officials emphasized that patients are increasingly traveling long distances to California for care, placing additional resource demands on local clinics.
The escort added that the organization should provide better training in de-escalation techniques, along with stronger support and clearer protocols for escorts dealing with confrontational protesters.
Ann Grogan, who volunteered as an escort from December 2024 through February 2026, echoed that sentiment. She described feeling “alone to deal with” encounters she considered intimidating and questioned why existing laws were not being enforced and police were rarely if ever called.
Grogan, a former attorney, also described incidents in which protesters approached patients within a few feet of clinic entrances, shouted and followed them to the door. One encounter involving a woman entering the clinic, she said, “caused my heart to break.”
“Anastasia was hot on her heels within two feet behind her, all the way up to the door, while another protester yelled ‘Don’t kill your baby, don’t kill your baby,’” Grogan said.
The patient “was crying big tears and trembling. Her face was contorted. She said nothing, but she turned to face me, and she was about to walk out.” Grogan comforted her, and they walked into the clinic together.
Grogan persistently brought up the lack of patient protection with Planned Parenthood leadership through internal channels. Emails and letters show she documented incidents outside the clinic, requested clearer enforcement of buffer-zone protections and brought up concerns at safety meetings. But she said her concerns were not adequately addressed.
In an email Grogan shared with the Public Press Christian Garcia, vice president of government relations and communications for Planned Parenthood Northern California, suggested Grogan take a break from escorting and volunteer in other capacities because the work appeared to be “frustrating” and “consistently discouraging” for her.
Grogan said she interpreted the exchange as a dismissal tied to her repeated complaints about safety and enforcement. Follow-up emails from Garcia and the organization’s volunteer coordinator insisted she was welcome to continue volunteering in other capacities
Garcia did not respond to a request for comment.
