Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has arrested eight individuals, including several foreign nationals, for allegedly practicing medicine without licenses at Houston-area clinics that provided illegal abortions.
The arrests followed an expanded investigation into clinics owned by Maria Rojas.
“This cabal of abortion-loving radicals has been running illegal clinics staffed with unlicensed individuals who endangered the very people they pretended to help,” Paxton said in a news release. “Beyond being illegal, it is evil.”
The arrests signal an intensifying crackdown on abortion providers operating outside Texas law. Paxton has vowed to use every available tool to enforce the state’s strict abortion restrictions.
A Waller County grand jury indicted the eight suspects for practicing medicine without licenses under Rojas. Those charged include 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 new indictments follow Rojas’s arrest earlier this year. The 49-year-old Houston resident faces 15 felony counts, including illegal abortion performance and twelve counts of unlicensed medical practice.
Rojas allegedly posed as a physician while operating clinics in Waller, Cypress, Spring, and Katy. She became the first person charged under Texas’s new abortion law.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, following her arrest, the Attorney General’s office sought a temporary restraining order to shut down Rojas’ clinics, ensuring that no more illegal abortions could be performed at any of the locations. Under the Texas Human Life Protection Act of 2021, the unlawful performance of an abortion can result in civil penalties of at least $100,000 per violation.
The state allows abortions only in limited medical emergencies. Violations constitute felonies under current statutes.
“These dens of fake doctors will not be allowed to operate in Texas,” Paxton stated. “Those responsible will be held accountable.”