A midwife in Texas has been arrested and charged with performing illegal abortions and practicing medicine without the appropriate license.
Ken Paxton, the state attorney general, announced the arrest on Monday, which he said had happened earlier this month, following an investigation by his office.
According to Paxton, the midwife, Maria Margarita Rojas, age 49, allegedly owned and operated three health clinics in the northwest area of Houston. In a news release, Paxton accused Rojas of performing abortions in the clinics — which are banned by law in Texas — and of employing people who falsely presented themselves as licensed medical professionals.
The case appears to be the first in which a healthcare provider in Texas has been criminally charged with performing an abortion since the state’s ban went into effect in 2022.
The abortion charge is considered a second-degree felony, with a sentence of up to 20 years in prison and fine of up to $10,000. The charge related to medical licensing is a third-degree felony.
The clinics did not provide comment when reached by phone, and Rojas did not immediately respond to NBC News’ inquiries. Court documents reviewed by NBC News did not list a lawyer for her.
The documents show that a district judge in Waller County, Texas, first granted a warrant for Rojas’ arrest on March 5, alleging criminal conspiracy to commit practicing medicine. She was booked at Waller County Jail the following day, per the documents, and charged March 7 with violating Texas Occupations Code. She was later released on a $10,000 bond.
On Monday, Rojas was arrested again, this time on charges of performing an abortion and violating the state’s occupation code, the documents show. Those alleged crimes happened after Rojas’ first arrest, according to the documents.
Waller County District Attorney Sean Whittmore referred the case to the attorney general’s office, the release said. Whittmore’s office told NBC News that it anticipates that the attorney general will handle the prosecution.
The Texas law that made it illegal to provide an abortion took effect shortly after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The policy permits exceptions if a physician determines that terminating a pregnancy could save a pregnant person’s life or prevent substantial impairment of a major bodily function.
Paxton has pledged to enforce the ban, which targets providers, not patients.
“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,” he said in a statement on Monday. “Texas law protecting life is clear, and we will hold those who violate it accountable.”
In December, Paxton sued a New York doctor, alleging that she had prescribed abortion pills to a patient in Dallas. The same doctor was indicted in January by a Louisiana grand jury for prescribing abortion pills — the first known instance of criminal charges filed against a provider for sending the pills across state lines. That doctor did not respond to NBC News’ requests for comment at the time and has not spoken about the case.
However, New York has a so-called shield law that protects abortion providers in the state who prescribe pills to places where abortion is banned.
