48-year-old woman arrested for allegedly illegally providing abortions

A 48-year-old woman on Monday, March 17 has been arrested for allegedly illegally providing abortions.

This was in the Houston area as announce by the Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, on Monday.

Maria Margarita Rojas allegedly provided “illegal abortions”.

She also “illegally” operated a network of clinics in northwestern Houston, Paxton said in a press release.

Rojas has been charged with the illegal performance of an abortion and practicing medicine without a license.

The former of which is a second-degree felony, according to Paxton.

A second-degree felony in Texas is punishable by two to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000, if convicted.

However, under the Texas Human Life Protection Act of 2021, Paxton’s office stated he has the authority to seek a fine of at least $100,000 “per violation.”

Paxton said in a statement,

“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.”

According to Paxton, Rojas is a midwife known as “Dr. Maria.”

She allegedly owned and operated multiple clinics including Clinica Waller Latinoamericana in Waller.

Others include Clinica Latinoamericana Telge in Cypress and Latinoamericana Medical Clinic in Spring.

All  the clinics are in the northwest Houston area.

Rojas is accused of performing “illegal abortion procedures” in her clinics.

These allegedly violated the Texas Human Life Protection Act, the attorney general’s office said.

According to media reports, Paxton’s office held that the Healthcare Program Enforcement Division, filed for a temporary restraining order to shut down Rojas’ clinics.

The Healthcare Program Enforcement Division falls under the attorney general’s office.

Paxton’s office clarified that abortion providers, not patients, are criminally responsible for abortion procedures, which are considered illegal in the state.

Abortions are banned in Texas except for two conditions.

The conditions reportedly are, if the woman has a life-threatening condition or is at risk of “substantial impairment of a major bodily function.”

Reports say patients are required to make two trips, one for an in-person counseling session and then 24 hours later for the abortion.

This is according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that focuses on sexual and reproductive health.

Paxton’s office did not immediately reply to ABC News’ request for comment.

It wasn’t immediately clear if Rojas had an attorney who could speak on her behalf.

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