Houston-area midwife, assistant accused of illegally performing abortions
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Ken Paxton outside the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 9, 2019. Photo: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images
A Houston-area midwife and her medical assistant are accused of illegally performing abortions, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said this week.
The big picture: The case is believed to be one of the first in which a health care provider was arrested on suspicion of violating Texas' abortion ban since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The end of Roe allowed the state's ban — already on the books — to take effect.
Driving the news: Maria Margarita Rojas, 48, is accused of illegally operating a network of clinics in the Houston area, including one in Waller County, Paxton said in a statement.
- Paxton said Rojas is facing charges of performance of an abortion, a second-degree felony, and practicing medicine without a license, a third-degree felony.
- José Manuel Cendan Ley, 29, is facing the same charges and is accused of assisting her in at least one abortion.
Zoom in: Paxton's office said Rojas ran Clinica Waller Latinoamericana where she performed at least one illegal abortion.
- The case was initially investigated by Waller County prosecutors but is now in the hands of an AG's office prosecutor, DA Sean Whittmore said in a statement to Axios.
Rojas has been a licensed midwife in Texas since 2018, per state records.
- Midwives provide maternal care such as checkups and screenings and are trained to deliver babies. They also provide post-partum care.
What they're saying: Paxton said in a statement he "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."
- He added: "Texas law protecting life is clear, and we will hold those who violate it accountable."
The other side: Holly Shearman, clinical director of Tomball Birth Center, where Rojas worked part-time, told Texas Tribune she was "shocked" by the arrest.
- "I don't believe it for one second," she said of the allegations against Rojas, whom she described as a skilled midwife and devout Catholic. "I've known her for eight years and I've never heard her talk about anything like that."
- Representatives at the clinics Rojas works at did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment. She does not yet have a defense attorney, per court records.
Zoom out: Paxton sued a New York doctor last December for sending abortion medication to Texas. The doctor, Margaret Daley Carpenter, was later indicted in Louisiana, but N.Y. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) rejected an extradition request due to the Empire State's shield laws.
Flashback: Texas' abortion law, the strictest state measure when it went into effect on Sept. 1, 2021, banned the procedure after a fetal heartbeat could be detected, around five or six weeks.
- A year later, a "trigger law" made performing an abortion a felony.
- The state's ban, which preceded the Dobbs decision, forced clinics across the state to either close permanently or relocate to other states.