Paxton spends big on criminal abortion
What exactly amounts to an extensive investigation? How much money is being spent going after midwives rather than drug dealers?
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced the arrest of two more people in connection to what he said was a network of illegal abortion clinics.
“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,” said Attorney General Paxton. “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.”
The investigation into illegal abortion is ongoing and extensive. Those arrested included Jose Manuel Cendan Ley, 29, taken in on March 17 for the unlawful performance of an abortion and the unlicensed practice of medicine. Ley allegedly performed illegal medical procedures as a medical assistant at Clinica Waller Latinoamericana in Waller, Tex., and helped Maria Margarita Rojas in providing at least one illegal abortion. Attorney General Paxton announced the arrest of Rojas for performing illegal abortions on Monday. Ley is a Cuban national who entered the U.S. in 2022 and was later paroled, according to Paxton’s office.
In connection to this investigation, Rubildo Labanino Matos, 54, was also arrested on March 8 upon returning to the U.S. from Cuba. Matos, a nurse practitioner whose license is currently on probation by the Board of Nursing, is charged with conspiracy to practice medicine without a license.
The biggest thing I see here is that the Attorney General’s office is saying they spent an “extensive” amount of time and money looking into the crimes. For people who don’t understand or think about government budgets, that means that Paxton is allocating money that could be spent on something like heroin prosecutions instead to go after midwives helping women in dire situations in communities where they don’t have access to telehealth or transportation to other states.
Voters would care about priorities from a prosecutorial standpoint, and Texas politicians would be well-served to focus on the crimes and things most voters care about. I’d bet the farm that they care more about their kid’s heroin addiction than they do about someone helping desperate people end unwanted pregnancies.
On another note, these types of illegal abortion clinics will likely occur more in poorer communities without internet access and access to a car. That particularly will affect immigrants and places that don’t have ridesharing available.