Houston area midwife charged with performing illegal abortions amid Texas' near-total ban
A licensed midwife from the Houston area has been charged with illegally performing an abortion and illegally operating a network of abortion clinics, the Texas Attorney General's office announced Monday.
Maria Margarita Rojas, 48, was taken into custody in Waller County and has also been charged with practicing medicine without a license. Waller County District Attorney Sean Whittmore referred the case to the attorney general's office for prosecution. The state agency has limited prosecutorial responsibilities but Texas law allows local authorities to request assistance from the attorney general.
It was the first arrest since Texas' strict abortion law took effect after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in 2022.
Paxton, who supports Texas' near-total ban on abortions, said his office has conducted an "extensive investigation" into the clinics allegedly operated by Rojas.
More: Texas GOP senator files bill to clarify abortion ban, expand protections in emergencies
"I will always do everything in my power to protect the unborn, defend our state's pro-life laws, and work to ensure that unlicensed individuals endangering the lives of women by performing illegal abortions are fully prosecuted,' Paxton said in a news release. 'Texas law protecting life is clear, and we will hold those who violate it accountable.'
According to the Texas Department Licensing and Regulation, Rojas has been a licensed midwife since July 2018 and the license remains valid until February 2026.
According to the investigation by Paxton's office, Rojas operates several clinics under the names of Clinica Waller Latinoamericana in Waller, Clinica Latinoamericana Telge in Cypress, and Latinoamericana Medical Clinic in Spring.
The news release said the clinics "unlawfully employed unlicensed individuals who falsely presented themselves as licensed medical professionals to provide medical treatment."
Rojas is the first person arrested under Texas' House Bill 1280, the 2021 state trigger law that prohibited all but lifesaving abortions after the U.S. Supreme Court in July 2022 reversed Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision that had guaranteed a national right to an abortion. The law, which became active post-Roe, carries penalties for doctors including the loss of their medical license, fines of no less than $100,000 and sentences of up to life in prison.
The law also gives the attorney general the authority to seek civil penalties of at least $100,000 per violation for the unlawful performing an abortion.
More: 'Confused and frightened': Texas Medical Board guidance on abortion ban exceptions unveiled
Texas Republicans are gearing up to continue to crack down on abortion with new legislation this year. House and Senate GOP lawmakers on Friday filed a bill to let Texans sue organizations that mail abortion-inducing drugs into the state, SB 2880, which would also make it a crime to pay for a Texas woman's "elective abortion."
The law would "appl(y) extraterritorially to the maximum extent permitted by the Texas Constitution or federal law." The state Senate has also made it a priority this year to ban taxpayer funded abortion travel.
Rojas' arrest escalates the Republican attorney general's campaign against abortion months after he filed the first lawsuit against an out-of-state abortion pill provider, New York doctor Maggie Carpenter, in December.
Paxton has also sued Austin and San Antonio for allocating taxpayer dollars for abortion travel, and in December 2023 he successfully blocked Kate Cox, a mother of two in Dallas, from legally terminating her pregnancy. Cox's baby had been diagnosed with Trisomy 18 and had 'virtually no chance' of survival, as per an OB-GYN, but the Texas Supreme Court found that the case had not clearly fallen under the abortion ban's exception to protect the life of the pregnant patient.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Houston midwife arrested, charged with violating Texas abortion ban
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