The lawsuit against pro-life activists Daleiden and Merritt has been dismissed
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A California judge on Wednesday removed the last hurdle in the prosecution of a pro-life activist who alleges in undercover videos that abortion providers were illegally profiting from fetal tissue.
“As promised, the final case was DISCLOSED and the case was completely dismissed – -after several months of administrative delays, and a truly bizarre ‘April Fool’s’ last-minute attempt by @PPFA and @NatAbortionFed to overturn the State’s agreement,” Center for Medical Progress founder David Daleiden tweeted Wednesday, including a statement reached earlier.
Daleiden, along with undercover reporter Sandra Merritt, are facing a 15-count indictment filed by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra in 2017. The charges stem from an investigation conducted by the office of former California Attorney General Harris, who left his position as the state’s attorney general in January 2017 after being elected to the US Senate.
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David Daleiden, a defendant in a lawsuit stemming from an undercover investigation into his undercover Planned Parenthood videos, stands in court in Houston, February 4, 2016. (David J. Phillip / Ap)
In January 2025, Daleiden and Merritt each pleaded no contest to one charge under a plea agreement with California, which dismissed the remaining charges. Under the agreement, they did not face jail time, fines, or admit wrongdoing.
On Wednesday, San Francisco County Judge Brian Ferrall dropped the last charge against Daleiden and dismissed the case.
In a statement he made last year, Daleiden said it was the end of “the legislation introduced by Kamala Harris [is] a major victory for my investigative report on the public’s right to know the truth about Planned Parenthood’s sale of aborted baby organs.”
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Planned Parenthood chapters in Texas worked with the national organization to create a guide that removes women from pregnancy discussions. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
In January 2025, California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a petition as a success to obtain reproductive health care, saying in a press release that his office had received criminal charges. Under the agreement, Daleiden and Merritt were required to have no contact with, stay away from, and not mention the names of the victims in the recordings, and obey all laws, including not making any other illegal recordings.
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“While the Trump Administration is issuing amnesty to people convicted of harming clinics and health care providers, my office is finding criminal cases to ensure that Californians are able to exercise their constitutional rights to health care,” Bonta said in a statement at the time. “We will not hesitate to continue to take action against those who threaten access to abortion care – whether by recording confidential conversations or other means.”
Daleiden released videos in 2015 of Merritt’s interviews with Planned Parenthood leadership and abortion doctors, who described procedures that ensure the fetus remains intact and can’t be harvested.
Attorney General Rob Bonta taking questions on Aug. 28, 2025. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
In response to the videos, Harris’ office opened an investigation into Daleiden and Merritt for violating federal recording laws. In April 2016, the California Department of Justice issued a search warrant and raided Daleiden’s apartment in Huntington Beach, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Daleiden accused the raid of being politically motivated at the time.
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The release of the videos prompted the Senate Judiciary Committee to call on the Justice Department to investigate the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. No charges have ever been brought against the country’s largest abortion provider.
Daleiden was sued by Planned Parenthood for damages and was ordered in 2019 to pay $2.4 million in damages and more than $13 million in attorney’s fees.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Planned Parenthood, Harris, Daleiden, and the National Abortion Federation for comment.
