A midwife in Texas has been arrested and accused of making illegal abortions and practicing medicine without the appropriate license.
Ken Paxton, the state attorney general, announced the arrest, which according to him on Monday earlier this month, after an investigation of his office.
According to Paxton, it is alleged that the midwife, Maria Margarita Rojas, 49, owned and operated three health clinics in the northwest area of Houston. In a press release, Paxton accused Rojas of carrying out abortions in the clinics, which are prohibited by law in Texas, and using people who faltered as licensed medical professionals.
The case seems to be the first in which a medical care provider in Texas has been criminally accused of carrying out an abortion since the prohibition of the State entered into force in 2022.
The abortion position is considered a serious second -degree crime, with a sentence of up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $ 10,000. The position related to the medical license is a severe third grade crime.
The clinics did not comment when they were contacted by phone, and Rojas did not immediately respond to the consultations. The judicial documents did not list a lawyer for her.
The documents show that a district judge in Waller County first granted an arrest warrant of Rojas on March 5, claiming a criminal conspiracy to commit a medicine in exercise. It was reserved in Waller County prison the next day, according to the documents, and accused the violation of the Texas Code of Occupations. It was later released with a $ 10,000 bonus.
On Monday, Rojas was arrested again, this time for charges of carrying out an abortion and violating the State occupation code, as shown in documents. It is alleged that occurred after the first arrest of Rojas, according to the documents.
Waller County District Prosecutor, Sean Whittmore, sent the case to the Office of the Attorney General, according to the statement. Whittmore office told NBC News that he anticipates that the attorney general will handle the prosecution.
The Texas Law that made illegal provide an abortion entered into force shortly after the United States Supreme Court revoked Roe V. Wade. The policy allows exceptions if a doctor determines that finishing a pregnancy could save the life of a pregnant person or prevent a substantial deterioration of an important body function.
Paxton has pledged to enforce the prohibition, to which he addresses suppliers, not patients.
“In Texas, life is sacred. “The Law of Texas that protects life is clear, and we will hold those who violate it.”
In December, Paxton sued a New York doctor, claiming that he had prescribed abortion pills to a patient in Dallas. A Grand Jury of Louisiana accused the same doctor in January, saying that he prescribed abortion pills, the first known instance of criminal charges that were presented against a supplier for sending the pills through the state lines. That doctor did not respond to requests for comments at that time and has not talked about the case.
New York has a so -called shield law that protects abortion suppliers in the State who prescribe pills to places where abortion is prohibited.
