Texas midwife arrested for allegedly providing abortions amid state's near-total ban
A Texas midwife has been arrested over accusations that she performed abortions in defiance of the state's near-total abortion ban, Texas attorney general Ken Paxton announced on Monday.
Maria Margarita Rojas has been charged with the illegal performance of an abortion and with practicing medicine without a license, according to a press release from Paxton's office. Under Texas law, the illegal performance of an abortion is considered a second-degree felony. If convicted, Rojas could face decades in prison.
Rojas' arrest is believed to be the first criminal arrest under Texas's abortion ban. Last year, Paxton's office sued Dr Margaret Carpenter, a New York-based abortion provider, for allegedly mailing abortion pills to a Texan.
'In Texas, life is sacred. 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 statement accompanying the news of Rojas' arrest. 'Texas law protecting life is clear, and we will hold those who violate it accountable.'
In the years since the US supreme court overturned Roe v Wade, enabling Texas and more than a dozen other states to ban almost all abortions, anti-abortion activists have grown increasingly fed up with the lack of prosecutions of abortion providers. In Texas, advocates have increasingly encouraged men whose partners have had abortions to strike back with legal action.
Rojas, 48, operated a network of three clinics in the Houston area, according to Paxton's office. These clinics, his office said, 'unlawfully employed unlicensed individuals who falsely presented themselves as licensed medical professionals to provide medical treatment'.
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Requests for comment from Rojas' clinics were not immediately returned. However, Holly Shearman, a midwife who runs a birthing center where Rojas sometimes worked, told the Texas Tribune that she did not believe the allegations.
'I've known her for eight years and I've never heard her talk about anything like that,' said Shearman, who said Rojas is a devout Catholic who often works with Spanish-speaking, low-income individuals. 'I just can't picture Maria being involved in something like this.'
Midwives – in particular, midwives of color – have long been a target of US anti-abortion activism. As abortion bans spread across the country in the 19th century, midwives were often driven out of work or faced criminal consequences, which in turn led white, male doctors to siphon up their patients and dominate the medical field.
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The Guardian
an hour ago
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Sky News
an hour ago
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Warning: The updates below contain graphic details of alleged sex trafficking. An anonymous former girlfriend and alleged victim of Sean "Diddy" Combs - known only as Jane - is giving evidence on the 19th day of his trial. Follow the latest below. 15:49:45 'I am not a porn star,' Jane told Diddy, as she reached breaking point The following month, in October 2023, Jane says she was reaching breaking point over Diddy's sexual demands. She says she responded to a text he sent her saying he was "missing" her by saying "call someone else… I don't want to be trapped performing loveless, cold sex". She describes feeling "frustrated" at the pressure she felt was on her to earn "love, respect and romance" from Diddy. Jane says she said she told Diddy she wanted to stop having sex with other men, telling him "sex is sacred to me" and that doing drugs and performing sex for days was "creating a war inside me". Jane can be seen wiping tears from her face, with her head down, as the court takes a brief break. 15:35:42 Jane describes sex with 'cowboy wearing heels' at Trump International Jane describes coming to New York the day after their text argument, saying Diddy had told her he "missed" her and she had calmed down. She says Diddy had told her he would take her for dinner and shopping, and she had believed there would be no "hotel nights" during the stay. However, she says once the plane had taken off, she had received a message from Diddy saying he wanted a hotel night. Jane says: "I took a deep breath. I was upset and a little disappointed." Becoming emotional, with her voice cracking, Jane says Diddy warned her of a "surprise" which she said was him introducing her to a new escort, sending her a picture of a "cowboy wearing heels". She says she met Diddy at the Trump International Hotel & Tower New York, where she was given ecstasy and then, wearing lingerie, had sex with the escort called "Cabrel" in front of Diddy. She says she felt "discomfort" about having such nights "sprung" on her. She says she went on to have sex with the same escort in Miami, too, as Diddy had been "very happy" with his performance. 15:13:24 'I'm doing things that make me feel disgusting with myself,' Jane tells jury Last week, we learned that Diddy was still paying Jane's rent. She has lived in her home for over two years. Describing her feelings over her house, she tells the jury she had begun to feel "guilt trippy things". She says the agreement "made me feel like I had to perform" sex for housing. Jane says she didn't want to feel "obligated" to have sex with Diddy, to "put a roof over my head". She writes in messages to Diddy that she is "doing things that make me feel disgusting with myself," going on to say, "I don't want to keep feeling like this any more". Jane says she sent that message to both of Diddy's two phones, to make sure he got the message. Diddy replies to her: "Girl stop." 14:57:26 Jane says she warned Diddy: 'I don't want to be your hoe for the millionth time' As Jane begins giving evidence, she is being asked questions by prosecutor Maurene Comey. Comey asks her about a yacht trip to Miami. Jane says she had agreed to "partying" at a "hotel night" for two days, after which Diddy had promised he'd take her on the trip, but says it never happened. She says she later saw on social media that Diddy had taken the trip with another woman. She describes being "upset" after hearing Diddy boast during a podcast about "how much sex he had with his girlfriend" on the trip, but says Diddy was "dismissive" about her concerns. Jane says she later texted Diddy saying: "I don't want to be used and locked in a room to perform and fulfil your fantasies." Another text to him said she didn't want to come to New York to be "a hoe for the millionth time". A text back from Diddy denies sleeping with the other woman on the trip, and says: "I'm tired of your false accusations… don't f*** with me… I didn't have sex with anyone." 14:20:59 'Jane' returns to the stand A former girlfriend of Sean "Diddy" Combs, testifying under the pseudonym "Jane", has now returned to the stand to continue giving evidence. She is wearing a white jacket. On Friday, she told jurors about days-long sex sessions with male escorts in hotels, saying she was given "multiple doses" of ecstasy to keep her awake during some of the longest "debauchery" or "hotel nights". Today is her third day on the stand. 14:15:54 Day 19: Court is in session Before testimony resumes, we are hearing a series of discussions between defence and prosecution lawyers as to whether certain pieces of evidence are admissible. Over the weekend, the defence called for a mistrial, arguing that Cassie Ventura and Bryana Bongolan lied about Bongolan being "dangled" over a 17th floor balcony by Diddy in September 2016. The defence say the government should have known this was not possible, and say Diddy was away on the East Coast at the time of the alleged incident. The government has also asked to recall Dr Hughes, a psychologist who spoke earlier in the trial, talking about "trauma bonds" between an abuser and their victim. Both of these issues are expected to be addressed by Judge Arun Subramanian tomorrow. 14:02:38 Welcome back We are back with our live coverage of the trial of hip-hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs, on day 19 of the trial. Proceedings at the federal court in Manhattan are due to start at around 2pm UK time. We are scheduled to hear more evidence today from a former partner of Combs, testifying under the pseudonym "Jane". It's her third day on the witness stand, as we begin week five of the trial. 22:31:00 What you need to know after day 18 of Diddy's trial - scroll down to catch up An anonymous former girlfriend and alleged victim of Sean "Diddy" Combs continued her evidence against the rapper on the 18th day of his sex-trafficking trial. If you're just checking in, here's a round-up of all the key updates: Jane began her evidence by telling jurors that Combs would become "incensed" if she asked for the "entertainer" to wear a condom, adding the rapper said he "didn't want to see a rubber while he was watching"; As she began to recall "hotel nights" she became emotional in court, saying she was given "multiple doses" of ecstasy to keep her awake with the longest session lasting around three days; She explained that she felt she had to take the drugs "because when I wouldn't it would just feel too real"; Recalling a sobriety party in Beverly Hills, she said she went to the bathroom after having sex with two men and threw up, but Combs told her "let's go, third guy is here"; Jane said Diddy would call an assistant or security when he ran out of drugs, and told the court she also picked up a "white envelope" of drugs and "put it in my luggage" for Combs; Explaining how "entertainers" were chosen, Jane said Combs chose who took part in the hotel nights at first, before she then started to pick them from late 2021 because she "didn't like to be surprised by a stranger"; But she recalled one occasion when she was "repulsed" by an entertainer who she described as being "really sweaty" and "smelled"; Jane said Combs filmed hotel nights "several times" and even directed what he wanted her to do - from putting baby oil on the man to touching herself; The rapper also asked her to get nipple piercings because "that's what he wanted from his girl" and paid for her veneers as "he didn't like my teeth"; In a voice note played out to jurors, Combs told Jane "I can do whatever the f*** I want" after she said she needed a "breather and a break" from him; Jane will return to the stand to continue her evidence on Monday. 21:59:59 Court finishes for the day It's just reaching 5pm in New York, and that's all we're going to hear from Jane today. She will return on Monday to continue giving evidence. We'll be back with a recap of today's hearing soon - in the meantime scroll through our posts to catch up on what was said in court. 21:57:58 'At any moment he could cut me off', Jane says after Diddy voice note left her 'cold' Jurors are played an audio message from Sean "Diddy" Combs to Jane after an argument between the pair in August 2023. "I'm not going to be playing these games with you at all, nah, you are going to have a rude awakening, you will have silence," he said. "You can be mad and have a spat, that's all it is, you got me on my job, it will never work like that over here, you need to get on your job... I am trying to be clear, I am going to disappear on you." When asked about what she thought Diddy meant by saying he was going to disappear on her, Jane says she was "pretty alarmed by that message". "I was just really cold and its true that at any moment he could just do that if he wanted to... cut me off." Prosecutor Maurene Comey asks Jane what Diddy meant by telling her "you need to get on your job". "Expectations of me," she replied.
