WALLER COUNTY, TEXAS – For the first time, two people have been criminally charged under Texas’ near-total abortion ban.
48-year-old midwife Maria Margarita Rojas and her worker Jose Ley are facing felony charges in Waller County, Texas. Prosecutors allege they performed illegal abortions and practiced medicine without a license.
According to court documents KPRC has obtained, prosecutors state Rojas owned at least four different clinics in the Houston area, spanning two counties, and performed illegal abortions on a cash-only basis.
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KPRC spoke to Holly Shearman, who is also a midwife and a friend of Rojas.
“I think she’s innocent,” Shearman said in a phone call. “She’s a wonderful, Christian woman.”
Rojas' case was referred to the Texas Attorney General’s Office by the Waller County DA’s office.
The Texas AG’s office stated Monday that Rojas was known as “Dr. Maria” and she “performed illegal abortion procedures in her clinics in direct violation of the Texas Human Life Protection Act.”
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“Texas law protecting life is clear, and we will hold those who violate it accountable,” said Attorney General Ken Paxton in a statement.
Shearman told KPRC she was aware Rojas had her own clinics, but said she never heard about any abortion procedures.
“It’s not part of our scope of practice,” said Shearman. “I can’t see her doing something like this.”
According to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, Rojas has been a licensed midwife since 2018.
The Texas AG’s office said it has filed for a temporary restraining order to shut down Rojas’s network of clinics to “prevent further illegal activity.”
On Monday, KPRC tried to speak with Rojas, but someone at her house told us she is not available.
