Texas charges midwife in first arrest under state’s abortion ban

A Houston-area midwife was arrested for providing illegal abortions, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) said Monday, marking the first criminal charges under the state’s near-total abortion ban.

Maria Margarita Rojas, 49, was charged with the illegal performance of an abortion and practicing medicine without a license, Paxton’s office said in a news release.

Rojas owned and operated health clinics in Waller, Cypress and Spring, Paxton’s office said. Her facilities employed unlicensed people who presented themselves as medical professionals, officials alleged.

Performing an abortion in Texas is punishable by up to life in prison and up to $100,000 in civil penalties. Abortions are only permitted when a pregnant woman is at risk of death or “substantial impairment of a major bodily function.”

The law targets anyone who performs or helps set up an illegal abortion, including people who facilitate the distribution of abortion pills. Women seeking abortions can’t be charged under the state’s law.

“In Texas, life is sacred,” Paxton said in a statement Monday. “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. Texas law protecting life is clear, and we will hold those who violate it accountable.”

Marc Hearron, interim associate director of ligation at the Center for Reproductive Rights, an organization that aims to protect reproductive rights, condemned Paxton’s efforts to ban abortions.

“While details of this case remain unclear, we know that Texas officials have been trying every which way to terrify healthcare practitioners from providing care and to trap Texans,” Hearron said in a statement. “Their ultimate goal is to end abortion access for all Texans entirely — and they will throw people in jail to get there.”

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Source: Washington Post, 18 March 2025