In one of the first cases of its kind in the nation, a Texas midwife was arrested on March 16 and charged with performing abortions and practicing medicine without a license.
Maria Margarita Rojas, 48, a midwife known as “Dr. Maria,” illegally operated a network of clinics and unlawfully employed unlicensed individuals who falsely presented themselves as licensed medical professionals, according to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Two of Rojas’ associates were also arrested and charged.
Texas law holds abortion providers—not patients—criminally responsible for unlawful procedures.
Under the Texas Human Life Protection Act of 2021, the Attorney General has the authority to seek civil penalties of at least $100,000 per violation for the unlawful performance of an abortion. Local prosecutors may also choose to pursue criminal charges based on violations of Texas abortion prohibitions predating Roe that were never repealed by the Texas Legislature. Under those statutes, Rojas would face a second-degree felony, punishable by imprisonment ranging from 2 to 20 years and a fine of up to $10,000.
“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,” said Attorney General Paxton. “Texas law protecting life is clear, and we will hold those who violate it accountable.”
In December, Paxson fined a New York doctor $100,000 for prescribing abortion pills in Texas. Paxton brought charges against Dr. Margaret Daley Carpenter, founder of the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine, for unlawfully providing a Collin County resident with abortion-inducing drugs that ended the life of an unborn child and resulted in serious complications for the mother.
In his podcast, The Briefing, social commentator Albert Mohler said the pro-life community should pay close attention to the recent case against Rojas in Texas.
“The way this is handled is going to tell us a lot in Texas about the future of the pro-life movement, the legal challenges, and the larger media, cultural, and communication challenges we’re going to face,” said Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Despite outrage from pro-choice advocates and the mainstream media about the case, Mohler said the pro-life community must remain steadfast in supporting the enforcement of the Texas abortion laws.
“This is where you have a lot of people who are kind of really squeamish,” he said.
“We’re talking about the defense of the unborn. If you really do believe in the defense of the unborn, and I believe Christians really must, the biblical worldview leaves us no alternative. If we’re going to recognize the imperative of defending the unborn, that means that we’re going to have to take responsibility in a grown-up way and say that that will require criminal sanctions and actual arrests and actual prosecutions if people violate that law.”
Dr. Ingrid Skop, vice president and director of medical affairs at Charlotte Lozier Institute, praised the actions of Attorney General Paxton.
“As a board-certified OB-GYN practicing in Texas for over 30 years, I have cared for many women who have suffered at the hands of abortionists. We cannot discount the significant risks of harm these women face, including hemorrhage, sepsis, uterine damage, mental health complications and sometimes maternal death,” she said. “As physicians, our patients must trust we will live out our Hippocratic Oath to do no harm.”
Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, echoed those sentiments.
“There is no excuse for illegal abortions that take the life of the baby and put women’s lives at risk, committed by people who don’t even have a medical license,” she said. “Abortion activists’ reckless, criminal disregard for women’s lives and unborn life is on full display… Women facing difficult or unexpected pregnancies deserve real care and assistance, not the cruel exploitation of the abortion industry.”