Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced on Monday that a 48-year-old woman has been arrested for allegedly illegally providing abortions in Houston.
In a press release, Paxton said that Maria Margarita Rojas allegedly provided “illegal abortions” and “illegally” operated a network of clinics in northwestern Houston.
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.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) meeting, Feb. 23, 2024, in National Harbor, Md.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
“In Texas, life is sacred,” Paxton said in a statement. “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.”
Abortions are banned in Texas except if the woman has a life-threatening condition or is at risk of “substantial impairment of a major bodily function.”
Patients are required to make two trips, one for an in-person counseling session and then 24 hours later for the abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that focuses on sexual and reproductive health.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
