A Texas appeals court on Thursday tossed out an injunction against a Houston-area midwife accused of providing illegal abortions, saying Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office hasn’t presented any direct evidence that she violated the state’s ban.
The ruling by the all Republican Texas 15th Court of Appeals said a lower court’s decision to temporarily shut down Maria Rojas’ clinics “abused its discretion,” and that the state’s case relied on “probable-cause” affidavits centering on an anonymous email.
“Without the probable-cause affidavits, the remaining evidence in the record does not reasonably support the State’s allegations that abortions have been performed at the Clinics,” Justice Scott Field wrote in his opinion.
Rojas is the first person in the state to stand trial for allegedly violating Texas’ abortion ban, which took effect in 2022. She also faces charges for practicing medicine without a license.
The ruling only applies to the injunction, and Rojas’ case determining if she violated the abortion ban will proceed, along with the cases of eight other people who worked at her clinics and face similar charges.
Paxton has previously touted the case as he seeks office in the U.S. Senate.
“This network of clinics illegally aborted unborn children and practiced medicine without a license, intentionally deceiving and endangering the communities they claimed to serve,” he said in a release about the previous injunction ruling. His office didn’t immediately comment on the ruling Thursday.
The Center for Reproductive Rights, which is representing Rojas, said even without the injunction Rojas won’t likely be able to reopen the clinics, which have been closed for more than a year. Still, they considered the ruling a win, calling it a “significant step towards justice.”
“The state of Texas has no case,” said Jenna Hudson, senior counsel at the Center for Reproductive Rights, which is defending Rojas. “Maria Rojas has been an upstanding midwife who delivered babies and provided lawful care for underserved pregnant patients.”
Rojas is a licensed midwife who owned and operated several clinics in Harris and Waller counties. Paxton’s office is alleging that she gave women abortion medication, which Rojas’ attorneys say is only supported by an anonymous tip and the observations of one Medicaid fraud investigator who staked out a clinic. Abortion medication has some legal uses, including treatment of miscarriages.