Woman Arrested by Attorney General in Texas for Performing Illegal Abortions

A woman was arrested in Texas for allegedly providing illegal abortions, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Monday. The arrest is the first of its kind under a 2022 near-total abortion ban in the state. 

“In Texas, life is sacred,” Paxton said in a press release. “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.”  

Maria Margarita Rojas, known as “Dr. Maria,” was arrested for allegedly providing illegal abortions and illegally operating a network of clinics in the Houston area, according to a statement from the Attorney General’s Office. The 48-year-old midwife was charged with illegal performance of an abortion and practicing medicine without a license. The abortion charge is a second-degree felony, punishable by up to 20 years in prison. 

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Texas state law prohibits almost all abortions under the 2022 Texas Human Life Protection Act, with exceptions for risk to the life or health of the mother. The law holds abortion providers, not patients, criminally responsible for unlawful procedures, according to the Office of the Attorney General. 

An investigation by the law enforcement division of the Attorney General’s Office found Rojas owned multiple clinics in the Houston area, named Clinica Waller Latinoamericana, Clinica Latinoamericana Telge, and Latinoamericana Medical Clinic. The attorney general’s Healthcare Program Enforcement Division has filed for a temporary restraining order to shut down the clinics.  

According to the report from the Attorney General’s Office, these facilities employed unlicensed individuals who presented themselves as licensed medical professionals.  

The attorney general announced two additional arrests in conjunction with the investigation on Tuesday.

Jose Manuel Cendan Ley, a medical assistant allegedly involved in performing the abortions, was arrested Monday for illegally performing an abortion and practicing medicine without a license. Ley is a Cuban national who entered the country illegally in 2022 but was later paroled and received a green card under the Biden administration, according to a press release from the Office of the Attorney General. 

Nurse practitioner Rubildo Labanino Matos was arrested on March 8 for conspiracy to practice medicine without a license. According to reporting by The Texas Tribune, Matos’ license is on probation by the Texas Board of Nursing for negligent treatment of a patient at another clinic. 

Holly Shearman, a midwife who runs Tomball Birth Center, where Rojas worked part-time, told The Texas Tribune that Rojas was a devout Catholic and skilled midwife whose clinics provided health care to Spanish-speaking, low-income communities.  

“I don’t believe it for one second,” Shearman told The Texas Tribune about the allegations. “I’ve known her for eight years and I’ve never heard her talk about anything like that. I just can’t picture Maria being involved in something like this.”  

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser thanked Paxton for his leadership in opposing abortion in his state. 

“Texas law, like every other pro-life law in the country, protects pregnant women’s ability to receive life-saving care in a medical emergency,” Dannenfelser said in a statement shared with The Daily Signal. “There is no excuse for illegal abortions that take the life of the baby and put women’s lives at risk, committed by people who don’t even have a medical license … Women facing difficult or unexpected pregnancies deserve real care and assistance, not the cruel exploitation of the abortion industry.” 

Ingrid Skop, vice president and director of medical affairs at the pro-life Charlotte Lozier Institute, also applauded the arrest. 

“As a board-certified OB-GYN practicing in Texas for over 30 years, I have cared for many women who have suffered at the hands of abortionists,” Skop said in a statement shared with The Daily Signal. “We cannot discount the significant risks of harm these women face, including hemorrhage, sepsis, uterine damage, mental health complications, and sometimes maternal death. As physicians, our patients must trust we will live out our Hippocratic oath to do no harm.” 

The Paxton’s office did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment.