8 arrested in Houston midwife illegal abortion case, Paxton announces
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Eight people connected to a Houston-area midwife who allegedly performed illegal abortions have been arrested and charged with practicing medicine without a license, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Wednesday.
In a statement shared online, Paxton described the group as “a group of abortion-loving radicals” who are “endangering the very people they pretend to help.”
The arrests are the latest development in the investigation into 49-year-old Maria Margarita Rojas, who became the first person charged under the Texas Human Life Protection Act in early 2025.
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Pro-abortion rights activists attend the “Rally for Our Freedom” in Orlando, Florida to protect Floridians’ abortion rights. (Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty) (CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP)
Rojas faces 15 felony charges, including three for performing an abortion and 12 for practicing medicine without a license. His case continues.
Paxton said the eight new defendants worked under Rojas at his clinics in Waller, Cypress, Spring and Katy.
The accused were identified as 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.
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Texas attorney general Ken Paxton during the Republican National Convention (RNC) at the Fiserv Forum on Tuesday, July 16, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. (Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Paxton, who is running for the US Senate, said in a statement that the arrests showed the state’s commitment to enforcing strict abortion laws and said, “It is bad, beyond being illegal.”
“These hoards of fake doctors will not be allowed to operate in Texas,” Paxton added.
“Those responsible will be held accountable. I will always protect innocent life and use every tool to enforce Texas’ pro-life laws,” he said.
The Center for Reproductive Rights called the lawsuit against Rojas “sham.” The organization is representing Rojas in a separate civil lawsuit.
Senior Counsel Jenna Hudson told Fox News Digital that the indictments are “an escalation of Texas’ fear campaign against doctors and healthcare workers.”
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Cesar Franco prays the Rosary with pro-life and anti-abortion supporters who joined the Tradition Family Property organization to sing and pray Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in protest of the pro-abortion statue erected in the Cullen Family Plaza on the University of Houston campus. (Kirk Sides/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
Paxton “went after Rojas, a licensed midwife dedicated to helping her pregnant patients,” Hudson said.
“He heartlessly closed several clinics around Houston that provided legal, affordable services to families, many of whom were low-income, uninsured immigrants and had few options for health care.” he added.
“It’s no coincidence that he targeted Rojas and these clinics amid widespread anti-immigrant sentiment across the country. Texas healthcare workers deserve respect, not treated like criminals.”
