(The Center Square) – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is pursuing legal action against women who have either provided abortions or prescribed abortion-inducing drugs in Texas in violation of state laws.
On Monday, Paxton announced the arrest of midwife Maria Margarita Rojas for allegedly providing abortions and operating a network of clinics in the Northwest Houston area in violation of state laws. Rojas was taken into custody in Waller County and charged with illegally performing an abortion, a second-degree felony, and practicing medicine without a license.
“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,” Paxton said. “Texas law protecting life is clear, and we will hold those who violate it accountable.”
An extensive investigation by the Attorney General’s Law Enforcement Division found that Rojas owned and operated multiple clinics under the names Clinica Waller Latinoamericana in Waller, Clinica Latinoamericana Telge in Cypress, and Latinoamericana Medical Clinic in Spring, according to the AG’s office. The facilities employed unlicensed individuals who presented themselves as licensed medical professionals to provide medical treatment in violation of state laws, according to the complaint. Rojas also allegedly performed illegal abortions in her clinics, directly violating Texas’ Texas Human Life Protection Act, which bans abortions from being performed in the state with some exceptions, the AG’s office alleges.
On Tuesday, Paxton announced the arrests of two more individuals allegedly working with Rojas – including one who was in the U.S. illegally from Cuba.
Jose Manuel Cendan Ley, 29, was arrested on March 17 and charged with unlawfully performing an abortion and practicing medicine without a license. He allegedly acted as a medical assistant performing illegal medical procedures at Clinica Waller Latinoamericana in Waller and assisted Rojas with performing at least one illegal abortion, according to the complaint.
Ley illegally entered the U.S. in 2022 and instead of being removed was released into the U.S. by the Biden administration.
Another Cuban national, Rubildo Labanino Matos, 54, was arrested on March 8 after returning to the U.S. from Cuba. Matos, a nurse practitioner, was charged with conspiracy to practice medicine without a license; her license is currently on probation by the Board of Nursing.
The Attorney General’s Healthcare Program Enforcement Division also filed a temporary restraining order request with the court to shut down the clinics. Under state law, the AG’s office may seek civil penalties of at least $100,000 per violation for unlawfully performing abortions. Paxton’s office is prosecuting the case after Waller County District Attorney Sean Whittmore referred the case to his office.
Texas law holds abortion providers – not patients – criminally responsible for performing abortions.
The arrest was made after the AG’s office last month won the first case in the U.S. against a doctor for unlawfully prescribing abortion-inducing drugs in a state where doing so is illegal.
In December, Paxton sued a New York doctor for unlawfully providing abortion-inducing drugs to Texas residents in violation of state law. The lawsuit was filed in the District Court of Collin County, which handed him a victory last month, granting a $100,000 civil judgement and permanent injunction against Dr. Margaret Daley Carpenter, founder of the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine. Paxton sued Carpenter for providing a Collin County resident with abortion-inducing drugs that terminated the pregnancy of the mother while also causing serious health complications requiring medical intervention.
Texas laws prohibit physicians or medical suppliers from providing abortion-inducing drugs by courier, delivery, or mail service. Texas law also prohibits physicians from treating patients or prescribing medicine through telehealth services unless they are licensed to practice medicine in Texas. Despite this, Dr. Carpenter knowingly treated Texas residents without a Texas medical license, the AG’s office alleges.
“In this case, an out-of-state doctor violated the law and caused serious harm to this patient. This doctor prescribed abortion-inducing drugs – unauthorized, over telemedicine – causing her patient to end up in the hospital with serious complications. In Texas, we treasure the health and lives of mothers and babies, and this is why out-of-state doctors may not illegally and dangerously prescribe abortion-inducing drugs to Texas residents,” Paxton said.
The court ruled that Carpenter violated state laws, fined her $100,000 and ordered that she pay all court costs and attorney fees totaling over $13,000. She is also charged 7.5% interest every day the fine is not paid, according to the judgment. She is also permanently banned from prescribing abortion-inducing drugs to Texas residents and from practicing medicine in Texas without a license and registration.
The judgment states that Carpenter was properly served and received due process but didn’t file a response, didn’t show up to court and “therefore defaulted.” The court found that Carpenter violated the Texas Medical Practice Act, several state medical codes “by practicing medicine without a license and registration” and violated the Texas Health & Safety Code and “an unborn child died as a result of these violations.”
The legal actions were filed after the number of elected abortions reported to the state were zero since Roe v. Wade was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in July 2022, indicating that Rojas did not report the abortions she performed.
Because of Texas’ abortion ban, the Texas’ Human Life Protection Act, zero elective abortions were reported in Texas from August 2022 through October 2024, according to state data. Elective abortions performed in 2022 up until the Dobbs ruling in July 2022 totaled 17,179, according to the data, The Center Square reported.
