Texas arrests midwife for allegedly providing illegal abortions

(Reuters) -Texas arrested a midwife for allegedly providing illegal abortions and illegally operating a network of clinics in the Houston area, the state attorney general said on Monday.

Texas has heavily restricted abortion since the federal right to the procedure was overturned in a Supreme Court ruling in 2022.

In addition to arresting Maria Margarita Rojas, officials have filed for a temporary restraining order to shut down the clinics. The attorney general has the ability to seek penalties of at least $100,000 per violation, the attorney general's statement said.

"Texas law protecting life is clear, and we will hold those who violate it accountable," Attorney General Ken Paxton said.

Rojas owns multiple clinics that used unlicensed individuals who falsely presented themselves as licensed medical professionals, the statement said.

Clinicas Latinoamericanas, which operates three locations named by the attorney general, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

Texas prohibits abortions unless the pregnancy places the woman at risk of death or "substantial impairment of a major bodily function."

A New York doctor in January was indicted by a grand jury in Louisiana for prescribing an abortion pill taken by a teenager there.

The U.S. Supreme Court in June 2022 overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that recognized women's constitutional right to abortion.

(Reporting by Costas Pitas; Editing by Leslie Adler)

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