TX Midwife Arrested For Performing Illegal Abortions, AG Says

AUSTIN, TX — A Houston-area midwife has been arrested for allegedly performing illegal abortions and operating an unlicensed network of clinics, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Monday.

Maria Margarita Rojas, 48, known as "Dr. Maria," was taken into custody in Waller County and faces charges of illegally performing an abortion—a second-degree felony in Texas—as well as practicing medicine without a license.

The arrest is the first of an abortion provider under Texas' 2022 abortion ban, according to Austin Statesman reporter Bayliss Wagner.

"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.

"Texas law protecting life is clear, and we will hold those who violate it accountable."

Prosecutors say Rojas operated unauthorized clinics in Northwest Houston, offering abortion services in violation of state law. She also allegedly employed unlicensed individuals who falsely posed as medical professionals to provide treatment.

State law holds abortion providers, not patients, criminally responsible for unlawful procedures, Paxton noted.

Investigators say Rojas operated multiple clinics under different names, including Clinica Waller Latinoamericana in Waller, Clinica Latinoamericana Telge in Cypress, and Latinoamericana Medical Clinic in Spring.

Paxton’s Healthcare Program Enforcement Division has filed for a temporary restraining order to shut down Rojas’s clinics to prevent further illegal activity. Under the Texas Human Life Protection Act of 2021, the Attorney General may also seek civil penalties of at least $100,000 per violation.

Waller County District Attorney Sean Whittmore referred the case to Paxton’s office for prosecution.