A 48 -year -old has been arrested for allegedly providing abortions illegally in the Houston area, Texas Attorney Ken Paxton, announced Mondays.
Maria Margarita Rojas allegedly provided “illegal abortions” and “illegally” operated a network of clinics in northwestern Houston, Paxton said in a press release.
Rojas has been accused of the illegal performance of an abortion and practicing medicine without a license, the first of which is a serious second -degree crime, according to Paxton.
TO Severe second degree crime in Texas It is punished with two to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $ 10,000, if it is declared guilty.
However, under the Law of Protection of Human Life of Texas of 2021, the Pxton Office declared that the authority has a fine of at least $ 100,000 “for rape.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during the Annual Meeting of the Conservative Political Conference (CPAC), February 23, 2024, in the National Port, MD.
Mandel and/AFP
“In Texas, life is sacred,” Paxton said in a statement. “I will always do everything in my possession to protect the unborn, defend the pro-life laws of our State and work to ensure that people without a license who endanger the lives of women make illegal abortions are completely processed.”
According to Paxton, Rojas is a midwife known as “Dr. María”. It allegedly owned and operated multiple clinics, including Latin American Waller Clinic in Waller, Latin American Clinica Telge in Cypress and Latin American Medical Clinic in Spring, all in the area of northwest Houston.
Rojas is accused of carrying out “illegal abortion procedures” in his clinics, which allegedly violated the Law of Human Life Protection of Texas, said the Office of the Attorney General. In addition, the Health Program Compliance Divisionwhich is under the office of the attorney general, he requested a temporary restriction order to close the Red Clinics, according to Paxton’s office.
The Paxton office clarified that abortion suppliers, not patients, are criminally responsible for abortion procedures, which are considered illegal in the state.
Abortions are prohibited in Texas except If the woman has a potentially deadly condition or is at risk of “substantial deterioration of an important body function.”
Patients are required to make two trips, one for a advisory session in person and then 24 hours later for abortion, according to the Guttmacher InstituteA research group that focuses on sexual and reproductive health.
The Paxton office did not respond immediately to the request for comments from ABC News.
It was not clear immediately if Rojas had a lawyer who could speak in his name
