In a move that’s sent shockwaves through Texas and beyond, Attorney General Ken Paxton announced on October 8, 2025, the arrests and indictments of eight individuals allegedly connected to Houston-area midwife Maria Margarita Rojas, who herself faces felony charges for performing illegal abortions and practicing medicine without a license. The case, which has swiftly become a flashpoint in the national debate over abortion rights, marks the first prosecution under Texas’s stringent new abortion laws enacted after the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade in 2022.
According to the Houston Chronicle, Rojas, 49, was initially arrested in March 2025 and indicted in Waller County on 15 felony counts, including three for performing abortions and 12 for practicing medicine without a license. Her arrest, and the subsequent shutdown of her clinics, signaled the beginning of a sweeping investigation that now includes eight others: Yaimara Hernandez Alvarez, Alina Valeron Leon, Dalia Coromoto Yanez, Yhonder Lebrun Acosta, Liunet Grandales Estrada, Gerardo Otero Aguero, Sabiel Bosch Gongora, and Jose Manuel Cendan Ley.
Paxton’s office, in a Wednesday press release, described the group as a “cabal of abortion-loving radicals” and “fake doctors,” vowing, “Those responsible will be held accountable. I will always protect innocent life and use every tool to enforce Texas’s pro-life laws.” The Attorney General emphasized that some of the accused are foreign nationals, a point that has drawn both support and criticism in a state already roiled by immigration debates.
According to CNN, at least one of the eight indicted individuals faces additional accusations of illegally performing an abortion, not just practicing medicine without a license. Jose Manuel Cendan Ley, for example, was arrested back in March and stands accused of performing an abortion on a patient who did not meet the law’s strict criteria for a medical emergency. Court documents allege Ley was not a licensed physician at the time.
The investigation into Rojas and her network of clinics began earlier this year after a complaint was filed by an individual who claimed that two women—one three weeks pregnant and another eight weeks pregnant—had received abortions at the Houston-area business. According to Houston Public Media, the indictment accuses Rojas of assisting nine clinic employees to practice medicine without a license and performing abortions that resulted in at least one fetal death.
Rojas’s clinics, which operated in Cypress, Spring, Hempstead, Richmond, and Bay City, have been barred from practicing medicine as the case proceeds. Bond conditions for some of the accused, such as Alvarez, explicitly prohibit them from returning to these clinics.
The legal and political stakes are high. Texas’s current law, the “Life of the Mother Act” (sometimes referred to as the Texas Human Life Protection Act), bans nearly all abortions except in cases where the pregnant person’s life or a major bodily function is at risk. There are no exceptions for rape or incest. Providers face penalties of at least $100,000, loss of medical licenses, and possible prison time for violations. As Newsweek notes, this law positions Texas as one of the most restrictive states in the country regarding abortion access.
Rojas’s defense team, led by attorney Nicole DeBorde Hochglaube, has pushed back vigorously. “We’re still working vigorously to defend Ms. Rojas because we believe she did not commit any crimes,” Hochglaube told CNN. “We have yet to receive any evidence that supports either of those claims.” The Center for Reproductive Rights, which is representing Rojas in a separate civil lawsuit, called the criminal case a “sham.” Senior counsel Jenna Hudson stated, “Without any proof, Paxton went after Rojas, a licensed midwife dedicated to helping her pregnant patients. He heartlessly shut down several clinics that provided lawful, affordable services to families around Houston, most of whom were low-income, uninsured immigrants with few options for health care.”
Rojas’s lawyers argue that the prosecution relies too heavily on her possession of misoprostol, a drug that can be used both to induce labor and to terminate pregnancies. “A licensed midwife’s possession of misoprostol is evidence of a midwifery practice, not abortion,” they argue in court filings. “If possessing misoprostol were evidence of abortion, then every hospital’s labor-and-delivery ward would be accused of providing abortions.” They also point out that duties performed by the accused assistants—such as giving vitamin infusions or using clinical decision support apps—may have been appropriately delegated under medical supervision, not evidence of practicing medicine without a license.
Paxton, meanwhile, has made it clear that he sees the case as a test of the state’s resolve. In March, he declared, “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.” His office’s press releases have repeatedly emphasized the criminal nature of unauthorized abortion procedures and the state’s intent to pursue felony charges against violators.
The case has drawn national attention, especially in the wake of the 2022 Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade and triggered a cascade of state-level abortion bans. In Texas, the closure of Houston Planned Parenthood, one of the country’s largest abortion providers, just weeks before the latest arrests, further underscores the rapidly shrinking landscape for reproductive health services in the state.
Abortion rights advocates have not minced words in their criticism. A British pro-choice group posted on social media in March, “Texas midwife Maria Margarita Rojas & colleague Jose Ley arrested on felony abortion charges—another attack on reproductive rights. Rojas was pulled over at gunpoint, handcuffed. This is intimidation, not justice.” On the other side, Texas Right to Life celebrated the charges, writing, “Houston’s illegal abortionist, Maria Rojas, faces 15 felony charges after running underground clinics and deceiving women into believing she was a licensed doctor. She’s the first person arrested under Texas’ Pro-Life laws—and if convicted, could spend life in prison. This is a historic case proving Texas will not tolerate crimes against mothers and their preborn children.”
While state law does not permit the prosecution of patients seeking abortions, the issue remains fraught with legal ambiguity. In 2022, a 26-year-old Texas woman was arrested and charged with murder after using medication to self-induce her own abortion. She spent two nights in jail before charges were dismissed, and she has since filed suit against Starr County and the prosecutors involved.
As the case against Rojas and her alleged associates moves forward, it is poised to test the boundaries of Texas’s abortion laws, the rights of health care providers, and the limits of state power in the post-Roe era. The outcome will likely resonate far beyond Houston, shaping the future of reproductive rights—and their restrictions—across the United States.
