A Texas appeals court ruled Thursday that the attorney general’s office didn’t provide any substantive evidence that a Waller midwife violated the state’s abortion ban.
The decision reverses an injunction last year that forced Maria Rojas to close three reproductive healthcare clinics in Waller, Cypress and Spring, one of which housed a birthing center where Rojas delivered babies.
Attorneys with the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Reproductive Rights say the ruling affirmed what they have been saying for months: that Rojas was simply providing healthcare to a largely uninsured Spanish-speaking population and was targeted by the Texas Attorney General’s Office in an effort to scare other providers from offering reproductive care.
Jenna Hudson, senior counsel at the Center for Reproductive Rights, said Friday that the injunction reversal doesn’t mean the civil case against Rojas is dismissed. Rojas is also still facing criminal charges accusing her of practicing medicine without a license and violating the abortion ban, for which she faces up to life in prison. Both the civil and criminal cases were filed by Texas AG Ken Paxton. Rojas is the first person in Texas to be charged with violating the state’s abortion ban.
“While the case is expected to continue, the damage caused by the injunction is irreversible,” Hudson said. “The unfortunate reality is that it will be nearly impossible to reopen the clinics. Still, the ruling reversing the injunction is a significant step toward justice for Ms. Rojas, whose life has been upended because of the state’s baseless allegations.”
Rojas was arrested in March 2025 and held in jail for 10 days until she was able to post bond. Since then, she’s been on an ankle monitor and her midwifery license was revoked, pending the outcome of the criminal case.
Rojas has cared for Texas mothers and families for decades since she legally immigrated from Peru, Hudson said.
“She didn’t deserve this cruel and vile treatment,” Hudson said. “This underscores for us that the state still hasn’t presented any evidence that Ms. Rojas did anything wrong and it’s been consistent with what we’ve been saying all along. The state has been so desperate to find someone who they think is violating the abortion ban that they conducted a shoddy investigation against a trusted community midwife.”
The attorney added that the cases against Rojas have created a chilling effect in the Texas reproductive healthcare community, where maternity care deserts exist and it’s already difficult to even get treatment following a miscarriage due to the state’s aggressive laws banning abortion.
“This is an example of Texas’ consistent larger attack on healthcare providers with the goal of scaring them and scaring patients,” Hudson said. “People are dying as a result. Doctors are afraid to deliver care that people need because of exactly what the state is doing here.”
Thursday’s decision by the Texas Fifteenth Court of Appeals, a three-judge panel, “reversed and remanded” the injunction related to the closure of clinics, meaning the matter was handed back to a trial court. The state could try again for an injunction by producing evidence or they could ask the Texas Supreme Court to review the appellate court’s ruling. If they do the latter, they have 45 days to file.
“It’s hard to say what will happen next, but we don’t anticipate that this is the end of the case,” Hudson said. “It’s not automatically the end of the case, and the state has not indicated to us that they’re going to drop the case.”
There’s no hearing set for the criminal matter, for which Rojas is represented by criminal defense attorney Nicole Hochglaube, a former Harris County prosecutor.
Hudson said she met Rojas while the midwife was incarcerated and was struck by how much she cared about her former patients. Rojas has not worked since she was released from jail last year.
“The restrictions on her bond are very severe,” Hudson said. “She trained as a midwife and dedicated her career to caring for women and their families. She’s hanging in there, but she’s been unable to work, and that’s been very difficult, particularly for a woman who has dedicated so much of her life to caring for others. What Texas has done to her is disgusting.”
