Houston Midwife Maria Rojas Arrested, Held 10 Days Under Texas Abortion Ban: Facing $1.4 Million Bail, Seized Phone, and License Revoked, Rojas Awaits Charges
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton defends the arrest of Houston midwife Maria Rojas under the state's near-total abortion ban, stating, "In Texas, life is sacred." This arrest, resulting in a $1.4 million bail and restrictive bond conditions, highlights the controversial impact of Texas' abortion laws on healthcare providers. Rojas, held for 10 days without formal charges, faces an uncertain legal battle and financial hardship. The case underscores the ongoing debate surrounding reproductive rights in Texas and the implications for medical professionals
Texas Midwife Maria Rojas, arrested in March under the state's near-total abortion ban, remains uncharged three months later. Despite posting a $1.4 million bail, she faces crippling financial hardship, forced to fund a costly legal defense with limited public evidence against her. This unusual case highlights the challenges faced by individuals caught in Texas' restrictive abortion laws, leaving them in legal limbo and unable to work
Houston midwife Maria Rojas, arrested in March under Texas' near-total abortion ban, remains unindicted three months later. Held on an arrest warrant without formal charges or discovery, she's barred from working and faces crippling bail conditions, hindering her defense preparation. This unusual legal limbo highlights concerns about the Texas abortion law and its impact on reproductive rights
Houston midwife Maria Rojas, arrested in March under Texas' near-total abortion ban, remains unindicted despite exceedingly restrictive bail conditions. Her attorney, Nicole Hochglaube, reports Rojas is barred from practicing midwifery, her livelihood, based on unsubstantiated allegations. This situation highlights the challenges faced under Texas' restrictive abortion laws
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Texas Midwife's Unindicted Arrest: 10 Days Jailed, $1.4 Million Bail, and No Charges Filed. A leading criminal defense lawyer calls the situation "really unusual," highlighting the lack of formal indictment despite the severe consequences faced by Maria Rojas
Midwife Maria Rojas' 10-day jailing for alleged Texas abortion violations raises serious concerns. Her release on $1.4 million bail, without formal charges, is exceptionally unusual, leaving her financially devastated and unable to practice. This case highlights the controversial Texas abortion law and the overcriminalization of pregnancy
Despite multiple requests for comment, the Texas Attorney General's office and Ken Paxton's attorneys remain silent on the arrest and prolonged detention of Houston midwife Maria Rojas, who faces exorbitant bail and restrictive conditions without formal charges
Houston midwife Maria Rojas, arrested for allegedly violating Texas' abortion ban, faces financial ruin and legal limbo. Her clinics remain closed by court order, impacting her primarily Spanish-speaking, low-income community. While Attorney General Ken Paxton boasts of her arrest, Rojas remains unindicted, unable to work, and burdened by exorbitant bail and legal fees. This case highlights the devastating consequences of Texas' restrictive abortion laws on healthcare providers and their patients
Texas Midwife Maria Rojas, arrested in March under the state's near-total abortion ban, remains unindicted three months later. Her attorney, Nicole Hochglaube, criticizes the lack of specific charges and the damaging impact of the restrictive bail conditions, preventing Rojas from working and forcing her to mount a costly defense without access to crucial evidence. The case highlights concerns about the Texas abortion law and its impact on healthcare providers
Texas Midwife Maria Rojas: Unindicted, Unjustly Held. Jailed for 10 days under Texas' near-total abortion ban, Rojas faces crippling bail, asset seizure, and a legal limbo without formal charges. Denied due process, she's unable to defend herself or earn a living, highlighting the devastating impact of Texas' restrictive abortion laws
Texas Midwife's Unjust Arrest: Denied Due Process Under Draconian Abortion Law. Held for 10 days without charges, Maria Rojas faces exorbitant bail, asset seizure, and career destruction under Texas' near-total abortion ban. Her legal limbo highlights the lack of due process in the state's restrictive reproductive healthcare laws
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's office arrested Houston midwife Maria Rojas on charges of practicing medicine without a license and performing illegal abortions, based on a 30-page arrest affidavit. The investigation, stemming from a January complaint to Texas Health and Human Services, led to Rojas's March arrest and subsequent 10-day detention. Despite the arrests, Rojas remains unindicted, facing exorbitant bail and restrictive bond conditions that prevent her from working, highlighting concerns about due process under Texas's near-total abortion ban
Houston Midwife Arrested, Unindicted: Texas Abortion Ban Case Raises Concerns. A Texas midwife, Maria Rojas, was arrested in March for allegedly performing illegal abortions, violating the state's near-total abortion ban. The arrest, based on an anonymous complaint alleging two abortions in 2023 and 2025, followed a month-long investigation. While one woman confirmed an abortion, another reported Rojas, who allegedly presented herself as a gynecologist, may have provided medication abortion. Rojas remains unindicted and faces exorbitant bail conditions, hindering her ability to work and defend herself
Texas Midwife's Arrest: Misoprostol Seizure and $2,900 Cash Raise Abortion Ban Questions. Investigators seized misoprostol, a medication used to induce abortions, and cash from Maria Rojas' vehicle, leading to her arrest under Texas' near-total abortion ban. The lack of subsequent charges raises concerns about due process
Houston midwife Maria Rojas, arrested for allegedly violating Texas' abortion ban, challenges Attorney General Ken Paxton's claims in a new appeal. Her legal team refutes accusations, citing a politically motivated investigation lacking substantial evidence, highlighting the lack of formal charges three months post-arrest
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's claim of arresting a Houston-area abortionist and shutting down illegal abortion clinics is challenged. Legal documents reveal a flawed investigation leading to the wrongful arrest of midwife Maria Rojas, who remains unindicted despite facing exorbitant bail and restrictive conditions. This case highlights concerns about Texas's near-total abortion ban and its impact on reproductive rights
Witness statements in the arrest warrant “do not show that an abortion was knowingly provided or attempted,” Rojas’ attorneys wrote in the civil appeal. They argue that investigators’ main witness — the third woman who alleges Rojas may have provided a medication abortion — was given one misoprostol tablet, which is one-fourth of the dose needed for a full medication abortion. Rojas likely believed the woman was experiencing a miscarriage and gave her misoprostol, the standard protocol for miscarriage care.
The main investigator, who is a Medicaid fraud investigator, seized a small number of misoprostol pills from Rojas’ car, but didn’t note that misoprostol is commonly used for other medical issues, most notably during labor and delivery of a baby. The affidavit states several times that Rojas had $2,900 in cash and the clinics accepted cash payment. The investigator noted that he knows “cash-based and digital peer-to-peer transactions are frequently used in unlicensed medical operations to avoid financial scrutiny and regulatory oversight,” but he did not note that people who are uninsured or have immigration concerns are more likely to use cash.
Marc Hearron, the lead lawyer on Rojas’ civil case and an attorney with the Center for Reproductive Rights, said he’s stunned by what’s happening to Rojas.
“If the state can do this shoddy investigation, get an arrest warrant and throw you in jail, just by saying the word ‘abortion,’ without even actually having the evidence to back it up — any health care provider is at risk in the state of Texas,” he told HuffPost.
Owen, from NACDL, speculated that there are likely two main reasons for the state’s delay in indicting Rojas. The first is that the evidence Paxton’s office has gathered wouldn’t survive the test of probable cause. The second is that they do have probable cause but there is something suspect about the evidence they’ve gathered or how they obtained it.
The lack of formal criminal charges isn’t the only exceptional thing about this case. It’s also unusual that Paxton’s office is directly responsible for investigating Rojas. The attorney general’s office in Texas doesn’t have the power to prosecute someone on criminal charges; the office needs to be invited by a local district attorney. Rojas was arrested in Waller County, where Sean Whittmore, the local district attorney, is a former employee of Paxton’s.
Rafa Kidvai, an attorney with the Repro Legal Defense Fund, pointed to Paxton’s involvement in the case, a general lack of evidence against Rojas and the bail amount as reasons that they believe this is a political prosecution.
Abortion criminalization cases often do set higher bail amounts, said Kidvai, because abortion is a politically charged issue. For example, women who miscarry into a toilet and flush fetal remains have been charged with abuse of a corpse. But even within that context, Rojas’ bail amount for allegedly performing an illegal abortion, a second-degree felony in Texas, was “inordinately high,” Kidvai said.
The average bail amount for a second-degree felony in Waller County is around $36,000, according to 2024 public records. Rojas’ bail was set at $1.4 million.
“This sort of cruelty by procedure that happens is exactly what we need to be talking about,” Kidvai said. “If you lose all your financial support or your income, how do you fight the case? Attorneys cost money, going to court costs money, childcare costs money, therapy costs money. Criminal cases are inordinately expensive for people to take on themselves.”
Kidvai has worked on many pregnancy and abortion criminalization cases including several in Texas. When someone is accused of these types of crimes, often because of pregnancy loss, their community turns on them. They lose employment, they’re at risk of losing custody of their children, and sometimes there are immigration consequences.
Rojas spent 10 days in jail before she paid her $1.4 million bail. She was able to pay the bond with the help of bail funds, organizations that provide financial assistance so people can be released from jail before trial.
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The $1.4 million bail amount signals “that they want to punish somebody and never actually give this person the opportunity to defend themselves,” Owen said.
“Absent that bail fund, she would be serving a sentence and having no chance to test whether or not there is even a crime here.”
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