Texas AG indicts 8 people affiliated with Houson illegal abortion case

• Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced the indictment and arrest of eight people accused of performing abortions and practicing medicine without licenses in Houston.

• The individuals worked at clinics run by Maria Rojas, a midwife previously arrested and indicted on 15 felony counts for violating Texas law.

• Court filings indicate some of the accused are foreign nationals and face medical malpractice charges.

• Paxton called providing illegal abortions and practicing medicine without a license “evil” and vowed to enforce Texas laws protecting unborn life.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, has indicted and arrested eight people who he says illegally performed abortions and practiced medicine without licenses in Houston medical clinics.

According to an Oct. 8 news release from Paxton’s office, the eight individuals worked at clinics owned by Maria Rojas, a midwife who was arrested in March for operating without a license and providing abortions in violation of Texas’ law that protects nearly all unborn children.

Houston Public Media reported that Rojas was indicted on 15 felony charges in June. The indictment included counts of aiding clinic employees in practicing without licenses and illegally providing two women with abortions, resulting in the death of at least one of the babies. As CatholicVote previously reported, one of the women says that Rojas misled her into having an abortion.

Several of the eight recently arrested individuals are foreign nationals, according to Paxton’s office. Houston Public Media reported that court filings show that some of the eight have been charged with medical malpractice.

In the release, Paxton called the operation a “cabal of abortion-loving radicals” that “has been running illegal clinics staffed with unlicensed individuals who endangered the very people they pretended to help.”

“Beyond being illegal, it is evil,” he added. “These dens of fake doctors will not be allowed to operate in Texas. Those responsible will be held accountable. I will always protect innocent life and use every tool to enforce Texas’s pro-life laws.” 

Under a trigger law that went into effect after Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, abortions are only legal in Texas to save the life of the mother, according to the Texas Standard. As CatholicVote previously reported, other abortions are classified as second-degree felonies, carrying penalties of up to 20 years in prison and at least $100,000 per illegal abortion.

According to the release, Rojas was the first person to be charged under Texas’ trigger law.