A Texas midwife has been arrested and charged with illegal abortions, the state’s Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Monday.
According to a news release from Paxton’s office, Maria Margarita Rojas, 48, faces one charge of illegal abortion and another of practicing medicine without a license. According to court records obtained by USA TODAY, Rojas was charged on March 12 with practicing medicine without a license, a third-degree felony.
As of Monday afternoon, online court records did not show whether Rojas has an attorney or when she will make her first court appearance. Sean Whittmore, the Waller County District Attorney, referred the case to Paxton for prosecution.
“In Texas, life is considered sacred. I will always do everything in my power to protect the unborn, defend our state’s pro-life laws, and ensure that unlicensed individuals who endanger women’s lives by performing illegal abortions are fully prosecuted,” Paxton said.
Paxton accuses midwife of ‘illegal abortions’
Paxton stated that Rojas, also known as “Dr. Maria,” runs three clinics in the Houston area. She was taken into custody in Waller County, northwest of Houston.
Rojas has a current midwife license, which she has held since 2018.
The attorney general accused Rojas of performing illegal abortions in her clinics and hiring individuals who “falsely presented themselves as licensed medical professionals to provide medical treatment.”
According to Paxton’s office, Rojas allegedly violated the Texas Human Life Protection Act. In addition to the charges against Rojas, Paxton is seeking a temporary restraining order to close the three clinics that Rojas operated.
“Texas law holds abortion providers − not patients − criminally responsible for unlawful procedures,” the lawyer’s office stated.
Midwife says charges are ‘shocking’
Holly Sherman, the midwife who runs the Tomball Birth Center, where Rojas worked part-time, told the Texas Tribune that the allegations against him were “shocking.”
“I do not believe it for one second,” she said. “I have known her for eight years and never heard her discuss anything like that. I can not see Maria getting involved in something like this.”
Sherman described Rojas as a devout Catholic who served predominantly Spanish-speaking low-income communities.
The Texas Attorney General’s Office and the Waller County District Attorney did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment on Monday.
Texas’ restrictive abortion laws
The arrest appears to be the first of its kind under Texas’ near-total abortion ban.
Texas has one of the strictest abortion laws in the country, prohibiting abortion in almost all cases. The Texas Human Life Protection Act, which went into effect in 2022, makes no exceptions for early-stage pregnancies or for rape or incest.
Under state law, the attorney general has the authority to seek civil penalties of at least $100,000 per violation for unlawful abortion. Patients who undergo an abortion are not criminally liable.
Abortions can only be performed when the pregnant mother’s life or health is at risk; performing an illegal abortion in the state is a second-degree felony.
Rojas’ arrest comes just months after Paxton sued a New York doctor who is accused of sending abortion pills to Texas via mail. In that case, a Texas judge fined the doctor over $100,000.
