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By Mandy Taheri and Gabe Whisnant
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Wednesday announced the arrests of eight people, including several foreign nationals, allegedly connected to a previously arrested Houston-area individual accused of performing illegal abortions and practicing medicine without a license.
Newsweek has reached out to Paxton's office and Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas for comment via email on Wednesday.
Why It Matters
The announcement came months after the office arrested midwife Maria Margarita Rojas, 49, for "providing illegal abortions and illegally operating a network of clinics in the Northwest Houston area." In the Wednesday press release, Paxton's office states the eight arrested individuals were "practicing medicine without a license under Rojas."
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Texas has one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country, banning nearly all abortions except under limited medical exceptions*.* Rojas is the first person charged under a new Texas law on the matter.
What To Know
Earlier this year, Rojas was indicted by a grand jury on 15 felony counts, including the unlawful performance of abortions as well as practicing without a medical license.
On Wednesday, Paxton's office said the individuals have been "running illegal clinics staffed with unlicensed individuals who endangered the very people they pretended to help," linking the arrestees with Rojas.
The press release named the individuals as: 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.
The indictment comes over a week after the Houston Planned Parenthood, one of the largest abortion sites in the United States, was shuttered. In 2022, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark abortion rights ruling, triggering a slew of state abortion bans and restricting abortion access across the country.
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What People Are Saying
Abortion Rights, a grassroots pro-choice campaign in Britain, wrote in an X post in March: "Texas midwife Maria Margarita Rojas & colleague Jose Ley arrested on felony abortion charges—another attack on reproductive rights. Rojas was pulled over at gunpoint, handcuffed. This is intimidation, not justice."
Texas Right to Life said in an X post on September 15: "Houston’s illegal abortionist, Maria Rojas, faces 15 felony charges after running underground clinics and deceiving women into believing she was a licensed doctor. She’s the first person arrested under Texas’ Pro-Life laws—and if convicted, could spend life in prison. This is a historic case proving Texas will not tolerate crimes against mothers and their preborn children."
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a March press release: "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."
What Happens Next
Paxton concluded the press release stating, "Texas law holds abortion providers criminally responsible for unlawful procedures, and it is a felony to perform an abortion except in limited medical emergencies."
Update 10/8/25, 1:08 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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