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2h ago

Texas AG Announces Arrests of Eight Tied to Houston Abortion Case

The move extends the prosecution of midwife María Rojas, already facing 15 felonies under the state’s post-Roe ban.

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 20: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton attends the executive order signing ceremony to reduce the size and scope of the Education Department in the East Room of the White House on March 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. The order instructs Education Secretary Linda McMahon, former head of the Small Business Administration and co-founder of the World Wrestling Entertainment, to shrink the $100 billion department, which cannot be dissolved without Congressional approval. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Overview

  • Eight people indicted on Sept. 26 for practicing medicine without a license were arrested and named by Attorney General Ken Paxton on Oct. 8.
  • Only Jose Manuel Cendan Ley also faces a count of providing an abortion, and investigators say he acknowledged training as a physician in Cuba while working in Texas without a license.
  • The arrests stem from clinics operated by midwife María Rojas, who was indicted in June on 15 felonies tied to alleged abortions involving two patients and hiring unlicensed staff, and who has pleaded not guilty.
  • Court records say a patient identified as E.G. told investigators Rojas gave her pills after saying the pregnancy was likely unviable, while a second patient, N.M., is alleged in the indictment to have had a completed abortion.
  • Defense filings argue prosecutors cannot prove abortions occurred and note the medication cited is also used for miscarriage care, while unlicensed-practice counts are third-degree felonies punishable by up to 10 years in prison.