Texas arrests eight people in investigation of midwives accused of illegal abortions

Eight people linked to a Houston-area midwife accused of performing illegal abortions have been arrested and charged with practicing medicine without a license, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Wednesday.

In a statement shared online, Paxton described the group as “a cabal of abortion-loving radicals” who “endangered the people they claimed to help.”

The arrests are the latest development in an investigation into Maria Margarita Rojas, 49, who earlier in 2025 became the first to be charged under the Texas Human Life Protection Act.

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Rojas faces 15 felony charges, including three for performing an abortion and 12 for practicing medicine without a license. Her case is still ongoing.

Paxton said the eight new defendants worked under Rojas at her clinics in Waller, Cypress, Spring and Katy.

The defendants were identified 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.

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Ken Paxton, Attorney General of Texas, during the Republican National Convention (RNC) at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, on Tuesday, July 16, 2024. (Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

In his statement, Paxton, who is running for U.S. Senate, said the arrests demonstrate his commitment to enforcing the state’s strict abortion laws. He said: “It is not only illegal, but evil.”

“These dens of fake doctors should not be allowed to operate in Texas,” Paxton added.

“Those responsible will be held accountable. I will always protect innocent lives and use every tool available to enforce Texas’ pro-life laws,” he said.

The Center for Reproductive Rights called the case against Rojas a “sham.” The organization is representing Rojas in a separate civil lawsuit.

Jenna Hudson, Senior Counsel, told Fox News Digital that the charges were “an escalation of Texas’ scare campaign against doctors and health care workers.”

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Cesar Franco prays the Rosary with pro-life and anti-abortion supporters, joining the Tradition Family Property organization to sing and pray on Wednesday, February 28, 2024, in protest of an apparently pro-abortion statue installed in Cullen Family Plaza on the University of Houston campus. (Kirk Sides/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)

Hudson said Paxton “went after Rojas, a certified obstetrician dedicated to helping her pregnant patients.”

“He callously closed several clinics that provided legal, affordable services to families in the Houston area, most of whom were uninsured, low-income immigrants with few health care options,” she added.

“It is no coincidence that he is targeting Rojas and these clinics amid widespread anti-immigrant sentiment across the country. Texas healthcare workers deserve respect, and should not be treated like criminals.”