Two individuals stand accused of performing illegal abortions at Houston-area clinics, arrests that echo the wider diffusion of Texas' stringent abortion laws. Maria Margarita Rojas, 49, known as "Dr. Maria," a midwife from Cypress, along with Jose Cendan Ley, a 29-year-old Cuban citizen residing in Houston, were taken into custody facing charges for unauthorized abortions and practicing medicine sans a license, FOX 7 Austin reports.
In another link to the case, Rubildo Matos, 54, a nurse practitioner with a probationary license status, was arrested on March 8 after returning to the United States from Cuba. Matos is contending with a conspiracy to practice medicine without a license, charge, according to Waller County District Attorney Sean Whittmore, as he told FOX 7 Austin. The bond for Rojas and Ley has been set at $500,000 for each illegal abortion count and $200,000 for each practicing medicine without a license count.
The clinics in question, where Rojas allegedly practiced, include Clinica Waller Latinoamericana in Waller, Clinica Latinoamericana Telge in Cypress, and Latinoamericana Medical Clinic in Spring. Investigations suggest these clinics employed individuals who were not licensed yet purported to be medical professionals, a violation exposed, by the Attorney General’s Office. Click2Houston details the proceedings, including a temporary restraining order filed to shut down the clinics and civil penalties being sought by the Texas Attorney General's Office which can amount to at least $100,000 per abortion violation.
The charges have stoked a mix of condemnation and apprehension. On one side, Attorney General Ken Paxton maintains a steadfast disposition on the issue, declaring, "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," a stance echoed, by Waller County's DA Whittmore. In contrast, Brian Harrison, an organizer with Socialist Alternative and a defense attorney, argues that "Just criminalizing abortions has resulted in the rise of all kinds of human misery from increased divorces, increased family sizes when they can't afford to care for the kids they have now," FOX 7 Austin relays. Both sources punctuate a contentious debate as Texas continues to grapple with the fallout of its Human Life Protection Act.
