Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has made headlines again with the arrest of eight individuals affiliated with clinics owned by Maria Rojas, a Houston abortion provider accused of operating without a medical license. The Attorney General's Office announced the arrests on its website, claiming that these clinics were involved in illegal abortion practices and staffed by unlicensed personnel. The individuals taken into custody include several foreign nationals. The arrests come after Maria Rojas herself was indicted by a Waller County grand jury on 15 felony counts.
Rojas, 49, was previously charged with illegally performing abortions and practicing medicine without a license across several locations in Texas, including Waller, Cypress, Spring, and Katy. Following the expansion of the investigation, eight more individuals were indicted on similar charges. As per the statement from the Attorney General's Office, “This cabal of abortion-loving radicals has been running illegal clinics staffed with unlicensed individuals who endangered the very people they pretended to help,” referring to the accused as a group operating nefarious activities beneath the guise of healthcare.
According to a press release from the Attorney General's Office, the following individuals were apprehended: Yaimara Hernandez Alvarez, Alina Valeron Leon, Dalia Coromoto Yanez, Yhonder Lebrun Acosta, Liunet Grandales Estrada, Gerardo Otero Aguero, Sabiel Bosch Gongora, and Jose Manuel Cendan Ley. They are charged with practicing medicine without a license under the aegis of Rojas' clinics. All have been prohibited from practicing medicine or performing abortions as the case moves forward.
In Texas, it is a felony to perform an abortion except in a narrow range of medical emergencies. The state has stringent laws governing abortion providers and, Paxton declares his commitment to enforcing these laws. He stated, “I will always protect innocent life and use every tool to enforce Texas’s pro-life laws,” as noted by the Attorney General's Office. Paxton's actions reflect the state's strict stance on abortion and illegal medical practices. Rojas is notably the first person to be charged under these new stringent laws.
