Since the fall of abortion rights, no abortion provider has been convicted of violating a state ban. Proceedings underway in Texas might soon change that. Last March, Ken Paxton, Texas' Republican attorney general, filed civil and criminal charges against a Houston midwife, accusing her of performing illegal abortions and practicing medicine without a license. Texas law permits penalties of up to life in prison for performing abortions. The midwife, Maria Margarita Rojas, has responded that the state just can't prove their case.
The Medicaid ban took effect in July. A provision tucked into President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill cut the funding for health care providers that offer abortions and receive more than $800,000 in Medicaid reimbursements each year for basic reproductive health services such as birth control, prenatal care and cervical cancer screenings. Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider, pledged to continue performing the procedure. It also challenged the Medicaid ban in court, a fight that is ongoing.
