Texas Midwife Accused Of Providing Illegal Abortions
According to NBC News, this appears to be the first time a health care provider in Texas has been criminally charged since the state implemented the ban in 2022. Also in abortion news: A conservative lawyer has been forced out of the FDA for previously defending mifepristone.
NBC News:
Texas Midwife Arrested And Charged With Performing Illegal Abortions
A midwife in Texas has been arrested and charged with performing illegal abortions and practicing medicine without the appropriate license. Ken Paxton, the state attorney general, announced the arrest, which he said Monday happened earlier this month, after an investigation by his office. According to Paxton, the midwife, Maria Margarita Rojas, 49, is alleged to have owned and operated three health clinics in the northwest area of Houston. In a news release, Paxton accused Rojas of performing abortions in the clinics — which are banned by law in Texas — and of employing people who falsely presented themselves as licensed medical professionals. The case appears to be the first in which a health care provider in Texas has been criminally charged with performing an abortion since the state’s ban went into effect in 2022. (Bendix and Stelloh, 3/17)
More abortion updates —
The New York Times:
Anti-Abortion Lawyer Pushed Out Of F.D.A. After Republican Senator’s Pressure Campaign
Hilary Perkins, a career lawyer and a conservative, was targeted by Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri for defending the Biden administration’s position on the abortion pill. (Barrett, 3/17)
Ohio Capital Journal:
Ohio Anti-Abortion Rights Lobby Files Complaint Against Company For Telehealth Abortion Services
An Ohio anti-abortion rights lobby reported a reproductive care website to the state’s Department of Health, in an attempt to address what the lobbying group called “harmful circumvention of Ohio’s laws.” Those laws have been unenforceable by court order since last year. Hey Jane expanded its services to Ohio in February, and has been working in reproductive and sexual health spaces, providing mifepristone, the FDA-approved abortion medication, since it was approved for mail-order distribution in 2021. (Tebben, 3/18)
The New York Times:
The Women Most Affected By Abortion Bans
Abortion bans successfully prevented some women from getting abortions in the immediate aftermath of the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, according to a detailed new study of birth data from 2023. The effects were most pronounced among women in certain groups — Black and Hispanic women, women without a college degree, and women living farthest from a clinic. (Miller and Sanger-Katz, 3/17)
In other reproductive health news —
St. Louis Public Radio:
Rural Missouri Moms Face Barriers To Breastfeeding
A new University of Missouri study found that first-time mothers living in rural Missouri are more likely to stop breastfeeding earlier than urban and suburban moms. Researchers found that women who chose to discontinue breastfeeding lacked support, including access to lactation consultants, and had feelings of being overwhelmed. (Lewis-Thompson, 3/17)
The Washington Post:
The Pain Of Endometriosis: Many Women Struggle For Diagnosis
Women see seven physicians on average before getting diagnosed. One small study found women experience a median delay of 8.5 years for endometriosis to be correctly identified. (Pasricha, 3/17)
