A 48-year-old woman and 29-year-old man were arrested for allegedly providing illegal abortions and operating a network of unlicensed clinics in the Houston area, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced this week.
Paxton said that Maria “Dr. Maria” Rojas is a known midwife in Northwest Houston and was taken into custody in Waller County. She is accused of performing illegal abortions, which violates the Texas Human Life Protection Act. The law bans abortion after six weeks.
During an investigation, the attorney general’s office found that Rojas owned and operated multiple clinics under the names Clinica Waller Latinoamericana in Waller, Clinica Latinoamericana Telge in Cypress, both northwest of Houston, and Latinoamericana Medical Clinic in Spring, just north of Houston.
The press release from Paxton’s office alleged that Rojas’ clinics employed unlicensed people who “falsely presented themselves as licensed medical professionals.”
Jose Manuel Cendan Ley was also taken into custody on Monday and charged with an unlawful performance of an abortion and unlicensed practice of medicine. According to Paxton, Ley performed illegal medical procedures and assisted Rojas in at least one abortion procedure.
“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 individual endangering the lives of women by performing illegal abortions are fully prosecuted,” Paxton said. “Texas law protecting life is clear and we will hold those who violate it accountable.”
Holly Shearman, a friend of Rojas’, told CBS News she spoke with her after the arrest. “She was adamant she was innocent. Midwives around the state are rallying around her,” Shearman said.
Court records did not list an attorney for Rojas who could speak on her behalf, The Associated Press reported. The clinics advertise various services on their Facebook pages, including physical exams, ultrasounds and vaccines, AP noted.
Following Rojas’ arrest, Paxton’s Healthcare Program Enforcement Division filed for a temporary restraining order to shut down all of the clinics Rojas owned and operated.
Marc Hearron, interim associate director of U.S. litigation at the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement: “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. Their ultimate goal is to end abortion access for all Texans entirely—and they will throw people in jail to get there.”
Paxton also announced Tuesday that Rubildo Labanino Matos, 54, had been arrested on March 8 in connection to the investigation. Paxton said Matos is a nurse practitioner whose license is currently on probation by the Board of Nursing. He was charged with conspiracy to practice medicine without a license.
What is the Texas Human Life Protection Act?
Under the Texas Human Life Protection Act of 2021, the Texas attorney general has the authority to seek civil penalties of at least $100,000 per violation for the unlawful performance of an abortion.
The Waller County district attorney referred Rojas’ case to Paxton for prosecution.
Attorney Will Vaughn, who is not involved in the case, told CBS Houston affiliate KHOU it could lead to a legal challenge of the state law. “We can all foresee this being a constitutional challenge at the U.S. Supreme Court, and that would be not so much challenging the conviction, if there were one, but challenging the constitutionally of the statute as a whole,” Vaughn said.
