A midwife and her associate were arrested in Texas last week and charged with the illegal performance of an abortion, a second-degree felony, and practicing medicine without a license, which is a third-degree felony. Midwife Maria Margarita Rojas, 49, and Jose Ley, 29, were also accused of employing staff “who falsely presented themselves as licensed medical professionals.”

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced the arrest of the midwife, 49, who was charged with providing illegal abortions and illegally operating a network of clinics in the Northwest Houston area.

Ms. Rojas, aka “Dr. Maria,” was taken into custody in Waller County, Texas. After the overturn of Roe v. Wade in 2022, Texas enacted a strict almost total anti-abortion law the same year, called the Texas Human Life Protection Act.

The Texas anti-abortion law does permit an exception allowing abortions, but only if a physician determines that “terminating a pregnancy could save a pregnant person’s life or prevent substantial impairment of a major bodily function.”

If found guilty of performing abortions in violation of the Act, Rojas could face a sentence of up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. If convicted on the charge of inappropriate medical licensing, she could again face up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

Texas does not hold patients criminally responsible for obtaining abortions.

In court documents, as reported by the Texas Tribune, Ms. Rojas and Mr. Ley are accused of attempting an abortion “on a person identified as E.G. on two separate occasions in March.” Allegedly, clinic staff represented Rojas to E.G. as a doctor (gynecologist), who followed her advice to receive a medication abortion at the clinic after being told she had a non-viable pregnancy.

The Texas Attorney General said that Texas has a mission to defend anti-abortion laws.

“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 Attorney General Paxton in a press release. “Texas law protecting life is clear, and we will hold those who violate it accountable.”

The authorities under Attorney General Paxton’s Law Enforcement Division undertook a months-long investigation into midwife Rojas’ numerous clinics. The Attorney General’s office said that the clinics, Clinica Waller Latinoamericana in Waller, Clinica Latinoamericana Telge in Cypress, and Latinoamericana Medical Clinic in Spring, had employees who “unlawfully employed unlicensed individuals who falsely presented themselves as licensed medical professionals to provide medical treatment.” The investigation also alleges that “Rojas also performed illegal abortion procedures in her clinics in direct violation of the Texas Human Life Protection Act,” as the AG’s office said in a statement.

After the arrest of Ms. Rojas, the Enforcement Division filed a temporary restraining order and closed the clinics associated with the midwife.

Beyond the criminal case, Texas has the power to seek civil damages under the Texas Human Life Protection Act. The state may seek penalties of “at least $100,000 per violation for the unlawful performance of an abortion.”