Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) announced Tuesday that two more individuals have been arrested on charges they provided illegal abortions, apparently in connection to the midwife who was arrested this week on the same charges.
Jose Manuel Cendan Ley, 29, and Rubildo Labanino Matos, 54, were arrested earlier this month. Ley is accused of performing abortions unlawfully and without a medical license alongside Maria Margarita Rojas, a midwife in the Houston area who was arrested Monday. Matos, a nurse practitioner, was arrested in connection to the investigation, Paxton’s office said.
Abortion is nearly completely banned in Texas, with very limited exceptions.
According to a press release from Paxton’s office, Ley is a Cuban national who entered the U.S. illegally in 2022, and Matos was arrested on March 8 upon returning to the U.S. from Cuba.
“Individuals killing unborn babies by performing illegal abortions in Texas will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, and I will not rest until justice is served,” Paxton said in a statement. “I will continue to fight to protect life and work to ensure that anyone guilty of violating our state’s pro-life laws is held accountable.”
Under Texas state law, performing an abortion outside the bounds of its highly restrictive ban can result in jail time as well as a fine of up to $100,000. Patients who receive abortions are generally not targeted by the law.
