Maria Margarita Rojas, Houston midwife charged with performing ‘illegal’ abortion, the first time Texas has charged anyone with the ban in the state.
A Houston area midwife was arrested for allegedly providing illegal abortions out of a network of unassuming clinics. The woman’s arrest follows Texas’ banning abortions within that state, making the midwife the first person charged since the law being passed after the overturning of Roe vs Wade by the Supreme Court in 2022.
Maria Margarita Rojas, 48, was charged with performing ‘illegal’ abortions along with practicing medicine without a license at several clinics in the Houston area – many of which are simple concrete facilities with minimal signage, while others are located in strip malls.
An investigation into Rojas was launched in January when an anonymous complaint was submitted to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, according to the Houston Chronicle.
‘Hello. I wanted to file a complaint of a clinic in Texas that is offering abortions,’ the complaint said.
‘I know 1 person that they charge 1,300 for the abortion and as of right now [redacted] is there to get an abortion as well.’
The tipster identified the clinic as Clinica Waller LatinoAmerica – one of the three offices Rojas, also gong by the name, “Dr. Maria” is accused of owning and operating.
The investigation into Rojas’ practices spanned more than a month and involved more than a dozen people with the Office of the Attorney General, the Texas Tribune reported, citing an arrest affidavit.
The Waller County District Attorney’s office launched the investigation, then referred the case to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton‘s office.
‘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,’ said Paxton in a release.
‘Texas law protecting life is clear, and we will hold those who violate it accountable.’
The investigation revealed that Rojas owned and operated multiple clinics under the names Clinica Waller Latinoamericana in Waller, Clinica Latinoamericana Telge in Cypress and Latinoamericana Medical Clinic in Spring.
Paxton claimed these facilities unlawfully employed unlicensed individuals who falsely presented themselves as licensed medical professionals to provide medical treatment. All payments were via cash basis only.
Rojas has been a licensed midwife since 2018, according to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.
A friend of Rojas, fellow midwife, Holly Shearman, described her as a ‘wonderful, Christian woman,’ KPRC reported.
Two of Rojas employees – Jose Ley and Rubildo Labanino Matos – were also charged in connection to the investigation.
Ley was charged with performing an abortion and practicing medicine without a license, and Matos is facing a conspiracy to practice medicine without a license charge.
Ley is a Cuban national who entered the U.S. illegally in 2022, before eventually being parolled and attaining a Green Card, KHOU reported.
It is unclear how investigators determined Rojas was providing illegal abortions at the clinics, but a second email from the tipster identified two women who terminated their pregnancies at her facilities, the dailymail reported.
‘I know that this been occurring for a long time about the facility and I know that in Texas abortions [should] not be performed,’ the email stated.
‘Both abortions were not for any medical complication they were both made for irresponsibility of not wanting to protect themselves using birth control.’
Texas has heavily restricted abortion since the federal right to the procedure was overturned in a Supreme Court ruling in 2022.
Texas is one of 12 states currently enforcing a ban on abortion at all stages of pregnancy. Some states with abortion bans have exceptions to the law in cases of rape or incest, but the Texas law does not.
Texas’ ban allows exceptions when a pregnant patient has a life-threatening condition.
Of note, Rojas is the first person to be charged under Texas’ recent abortion ban, FOX4 reported.
The charge of illegal performance of an abortion carries a punishment of up to 20 years in prison while the charge of practicing medicine without a license carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.
Paxton’s office also announced they are seeking a temporary restraining order to shut down Rojas’s network of clinics to prevent further illegal activity.
Rojas was arrested on Monday and is being held in the Waller County Jail as of Tuesday. Bond was set at $1.4 million, according to jail records.
