Texas Midwife Faces Charges in Abortion Case

Midwife and Associate Arrested for Allegedly Performing Illegal Abortions in Texas

In a significant development following the 2022 Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, a midwife and her associate were arrested and charged with illegally performing abortions in the greater Houston area, as reported by court documents and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. This marks the first time that abortion providers have faced criminal charges since the state’s near-total abortion ban took effect post-Roe v. Wade.

Maria Margarita Rojas, the midwife in question, operated clinics in multiple locations surrounding Houston, including two in Harris County, which has the highest population in Texas, and one in the more rural and conservative Waller County, where the charges were officially filed. According to Paxton, Ms. Rojas has been charged with the illegal performance of an abortion, a second-degree felony under Texas law since the enactment of its stringent abortion restrictions. Additionally, she is charged with practicing medicine without a license.

In conjunction with Ms. Rojas, her associate, Jose Ley, aged 29, also faces the same charges. Both individuals are currently being held on a bond of $500,000 in Waller County following their arrests.

Reports indicate that Ms. Rojas was apprehended earlier this month while en route to one of her clinics. A fellow midwife and friend, Holly Shearman, provided insight into the circumstances of Ms. Rojas’s arrest, noting that police stopped her at gunpoint and handcuffed her without initially revealing the reason for the detention. Ms. Rojas subsequently reported that some staff members from her clinic were also arrested during the operation.

The recent arrests come amidst ongoing discussions around the criminalization of abortion providers, which has predominantly relied on threats of prosecution rather than actual legal actions. Following the Supreme Court’s ruling, many abortion providers in states with prohibitive laws have ceased operations, forcing women to seek services in states where abortion remains legal or obtain abortion pills through alternative means.

Marc Hearron, representing the Center for Reproductive Rights, stated that this case appears to be the first significant allegation of a medical professional directly violating state abortion laws in a ban state. He emphasized that while charges have been brought against individuals providing abortion pills to acquaintances or relatives, the implications of these arrests against healthcare providers themselves represent a new and alarming phase in the enforcement of anti-abortion laws.

Earlier cases have seen some individuals prosecuted for providing abortion pills, including a notable instance where a New York doctor faced charges for mailing abortion medications to a woman in Louisiana, effectively violating that state’s abortion laws. In Texas, a civil lawsuit was filed against the same doctor for sending pills to residents; this case ultimately resulted in a court mandating the physician to pay over $100,000.

Ms. Rojas’s arrest signifies a departure from primarily civil actions to criminal prosecution of abortion providers in Texas. Attorney General Paxton asserted, “In Texas, life is sacred,” reaffirming his commitment to enforcing state pro-life laws and ensuring that any unlicensed individuals performing illegal abortions are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

After initially being held overnight for practicing without a license, additional charges related to abortion provision were added, bringing her bond situation under the scrutiny of local authorities. Despite this, Ms. Rojas’s new charges do not carry the most severe penalties, which usually apply if an abortion results in the termination of a pregnancy. The exact reasoning behind this decision remains unclear, with no response from the Attorney General’s office at the time.

As charges mount, court documents reveal that law enforcement officials allege Ms. Rojas attempted to perform an abortion on at least one individual on two occasions in March and had previously been recorded as having conducted an abortion on another patient earlier in the year. Attorney General Paxton’s office has also sought a temporary restraining order to shut down Rojas’s network of clinics to prevent any further illegal activities.

The ongoing investigations have their roots in an inquiry started by the Attorney General’s office. Although the Attorney General lacks the direct authority to enforce criminal laws independently, they may assist local district attorneys upon request—an approach that was utilized in this case, as indicated by Waller County District Attorney Sean Whittmore.

Maria Rojas, who is 49 years old and originally from Peru, has worked as a certified midwife in Texas since 2018 and claims to have attended over 700 births. Both Rojas and Ley have been identified in court records, with Rojas being a U.S. citizen while Ley is noted as a Cuban citizen.

As the case unfolds, there is considerable concern about the implications of these charges on abortion access and healthcare provision in Texas. A friend of Ms. Rojas expressed disbelief regarding the allegations, describing her as a devout Catholic who had never indicated an inclination to perform abortions.

As the legal proceedings continue, the case of Rojas and Ley could set a significant precedent in the ongoing national debate over abortion access and the legal frameworks surrounding reproductive healthcare in the United States.