WALLER, Texas – Court documents obtained by KPRC 2 News reveal a Houston area midwife accused of performing illegal abortions may have administered the abortion pill Misoprostol to a patient.
The 25-page affidavit is written by Lt. Edward Wilkerson with the Texas Attorney General’s Office.
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49-year-old Maria Margarita Rojas is the first healthcare provider facing criminal charges under Texas’ near total abortion ban.
The Texas AG’s office announced Tuesday that her employee, Jose Ley, and a nurse practitioner believed to have worked at Rojas' clinics, Rubildo Labanino Matos, were also arrested during the investigation.
Wilkerson stated the investigation began in January when he learned someone had filed a complaint to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission about two women receiving an abortion at the Telge Clinica Latinoamericana in Cypress.
After reviewing the clinic website, Wilkerson said he learned the business had several locations including in Waller, Spring and Houston.
Investigators discovered an employee named Jose “Cendan” Ley worked at the clinic in Waller but was not a licensed medical professional in the State of Texas.
According to the affidavit, Ley’s Facebook profile contained a photo with the words “Works for Doctors without Borders” in Spanish. Doctors Without Borders is a medical humanitarian nonprofit located in more than 70 countries around the world.
Ley told investigators he was a doctor in Cuba but did not have a medical license in Texas.
A deputy with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office conducted an inspection of the clinic located in Spring in February.
He told Wilkerson there were no physicians or nurse practitioners on scene and only located the Texas Board of Nursing license of Rubildo Labanino on the wall.
In March, another investigator at the AG’s office interviewed a woman identified as “E.G.”
According to the affidavit, E.G went to the Waller Clinic to get an assessment on her pregnancy since it had been described to her as high risk. When she went to the clinic, she said two female employees stated she would be consulting with the gynecologist.
She told investigators that gynecologist was Rojas, who told her she had a less than 10 percent chance of a successful pregnancy, so she opted for medication abortion. That medication is called Misoprostol or Cytotec.
KPRC 2 spoke to Holly Shearman, a licensed midwife and friend of Rojas, who gave more insight about the drug.
“One of the medications we carry is Cytotec and or Misoprostol,“ said Sheaman. ”And that controls bleeding after a mom has a baby. But it can also be used for abortion."
Shearman explained Misoprostol is usually taken in combination with Mifepristone when used for abortion, but she said the latter drug is not one that birthing centers typically carry.
“You have to have the combo and we don’t have Mifepristone,” said Shearman.
Shearman said Rojas called her when she was arrested last week and she couldn’t believe it.
“Shocked. Absolutely shocked,” said Shearman. “She said she didn’t understand what was happening.”
Rojas was an obstetrician in Peru and became a licensed midwife when she moved to the U.S., according to Shearman. According to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, Rojas has been a licensed midwife since 2018.
“I just can’t imagine Rojas doing this,” said Shearman. “Maria had never talked about anything like that. She is devout Catholic.”
Shearman said Rojas' clinic caters to low-income, Spanish speaking communities.
According to Waller County jail records, Rojas is being held on a $1.4 million dollar bond.
KPRC 2 also reached out to the Texas Association of Midwives.
We received the following statement from the Board of Directors:
