A midwife from Texas, who owns clinics, has been arrested and charged with performing illegal abortions in a state where such procedures are almost entirely banned. As authorities announced on March 17, 2025, this marks the first criminal case of its kind in Texas, one of the American states with some of the most restrictive abortion laws since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion in 2022. The 48-year-old Maria Margarita Rochas now faces up to twenty years in prison. According to the office of Attorney General Ken Paxton, the midwife, known as Dr. Maria, is being prosecuted for conducting abortions at three clinics in northwest Houston that belong to her. She was detained in Waller County and charged criminally for performing illegal abortions and practicing medicine without a license. Under current Texas law, abortion is prohibited even in cases of rape or incest. The only exception is when the mother’s life is endangered, although advocates argue that this criterion lacks clarity, delaying such procedures. Attorney General Paxton stated his commitment to protecting unborn children and enforcing ‘pro-life’ laws in the state. Meanwhile, New York-based doctor Margaret Carpenter was fined $100,000 in Texas and faces criminal charges in neighboring Louisiana for prescribing abortion pills remotely to residents of both states. Women seeking abortions in conservative states with highly restrictive laws often have only two options: travel to another state where it’s legal or obtain pills through correspondence. The clinic network of Ms. Rochas chose not to comment when contacted by AFP.