A Texas midwife has been arrested for owning and operating a network of illegal abortion clinics in the northeast Houston area.

Maria Margarita Rojas, 48, was charged with the illegal performance of an abortion, a second-degree felony in Texas, the state attorney general announced on Monday.

Rojas, a midwife known as “Dr. Maria,” was taken into custody in Waller County. She is also charged with practicing medicine without a license.

An investigation by Attorney General Ken Paxton’s law enforcement division revealed that Rojas owned and operated multiple clinics under the names Clinica Waller Latinoamericana in Waller, Clinica Latinoamericana Telge in Cypress, and Latinoamericana Medical Clinic in Spring.

The facilities allegedly employed unlicensed individuals who “falsely presented themselves as licensed medical professionals” in order to provide medical treatment, investigators said.

Rojas herself also performed illegal abortion procedures in her clinics in direct violation of the Texas Human Life Protection Act, the AG’s office said. Rojas is the first person to have criminal charges brought under the state’s near-total abortion ban.

In addition to the arrest, Paxton has filed for a temporary restraining order to shut down Rojas’s network of clinics to prevent further illegal activity, he added.

“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,” Paxton said in a statement.

“Texas law protecting life is clear, and we will hold those who violate it accountable.”

Some states with abortion bans have exceptions to the law in cases of rape or incest, but the Texas law does not. In 2022 the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and ended the constitutional right to abortion, returning the issue of abortion regulation to individual states. In Texas, this led to the enactment of a “trigger law” banning most abortions, with exceptions for life-threatening conditions.

However, only in narrow circumstances can an abortion be carried out in order to save the life of a pregnant patient in the state.

In order to allow the abortion to take place, it must be carried out by a licensed physician, the patient must have a life-threatening condition and be at risk of death or “substantial impairment of a major bodily function” if the abortion is not performed. and the physician must try to save the life of the fetus unless this would increase the risk of the patient’s death or impairment. 

Under the Texas Human Life Protection Act of 2021, abortion providers can receive civil penalties of at least $100,000 per violation. Online court records reflect the date of Rojas’ offense as March 5, 2025.

She was booked into jail on March 6 and was released on $10,000 bond on March 7, according to Waller County records.