A Texas appeals court on Thursday dismissed an injunction that forced a Houston-area midwife to close her clinics, ruling that Texas 鈥檚 office relied solely on an anonymous email as evidence that she violated the state鈥檚 2022 abortion ban.
Paxton鈥檚 office last year against clinics operated by Maria Margarita Rosas. She still faces criminal charge that she provided unlawful abortions and employed unlicensed individuals.
But the Texas 15th Court of Appeals, created three years ago by the Texas Legislature to handle major business and state civil cases, found that the trial court erred in granting the injunction because the judge relied only on affidavits from Paxton鈥檚 office that didn鈥檛 provide direct evidence that the violations occurred.
Justice Scott Field鈥檚 opinion said the evidence submitted to support the injunction 鈥渄oes not reasonably support鈥� the claim that abortions were performed at the clinics and the lower court 鈥渁bused its discretion in granting the temporary injunctive relief.鈥�
Abortion is completely banned in Texas with .
The appeals court, overseen by three Republican judges appointed by , did not give an opinion on whether the accusations against Rosas are valid. Instead, it focused on the injunction that forced the clinics鈥� closure.
A spokesperson for Paxton鈥檚 office said the attorney general will appeal the court鈥檚 decision to the Texas Supreme Court to 鈥渆nsure clarity in temporary injunction procedure in this and other cases.鈥�
In a statement, the Center for Reproductive Rights called the appeals court ruling a 鈥渟ignificant step鈥� toward justice for Rojas, adding that the state has unfairly targeted her.
鈥淭he state of Texas has no case,鈥� said Jenna Hudson, the group鈥檚 senior counsel. 鈥淢aria Rojas has been an upstanding midwife who delivered babies and provided lawful care for underserved pregnant patients.鈥�
Rojas owned and operated Clinica Waller Latinoamericana in Waller, Clinica Latinoamericana Telge in Cypress, and Latinoamericana Medical Clinic in Spring, according to the attorney general鈥檚 office.
___
Disclosure: The Center for Reproductive Rights has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in The Texas Tribune鈥檚 journalism. Find a complete .
___
This story was originally published by and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
