WALLER COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) — A Houston-area midwife who was the first person charged under Texas’ near-total abortion ban now faces 15 additional felony counts in Waller County, according to newly filed court records.
Fifty-year-old Maria Rojas, who has denied all allegations, was indicted in June on 12 counts of practicing medicine without a license and three counts related to performing illegal abortions. The new charges were disclosed in a civil court filing by her legal team on Friday.
The development was first reported by the Houston Chronicle.
Rojas was arrested in March and accused of providing abortion-inducing medication to a patient, identified only as E.G. in court records, who told investigators that she believed Rojas was a licensed physician. The state has since moved to shut down three clinics it says were operated by Rojas, including Clinica Waller, which had advertised itself as a family practice. All three facilities have remained closed since March.
In a 29-page brief filed on Friday, Rojas’ attorneys argued that the state has presented no concrete evidence to support its claims. They called the investigation “slipshod” and accused the state’s lead investigator of “jumping to wild conclusions.”
“The State has continued to trample on Mrs. Rojas’s rights,” the brief reads, criticizing the state for not publicly disclosing the June indictments in their legal filings. Her team also argues that the charges for practicing medicine do not apply to her role because she was a licensed midwife, a license that has since been suspended.
The Texas Attorney General’s Office has maintained that Rojas’s clinics should remain closed because she has presented no evidence to refute the abortion allegations. In a June court filing, prosecutors noted that during a March hearing, Rojas invoked her Fifth Amendment rights more than 150 times.
Rojas’ criminal defense attorney told ABC13 she is still awaiting discovery in the case. A status hearing is scheduled for September 19th. Meanwhile, her civil appeal to overturn the injunction that shuttered her clinics is pending with the Texas Supreme Court.
Texas’ abortion ban, enacted in 2021, prohibits nearly all abortions and allows for criminal charges in certain circumstances. Rojas was the first person arrested under the statute. If convicted, she could face up to life in prison and up to $10,000 fine.
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