Lawsuit also challenges constitutionality of Texas’ near-total abortion ban
The family of a San Antonio woman who died after being denied an abortion while suffering from a life-threatening pregnancy complication has sued Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for wrongful death, alleging that enforcement of the state’s abortion ban contributed to her death.
Tierra Walker, 37, died in December 2024 while 20 weeks pregnant after being diagnosed with pre-eclampsia, a dangerous pregnancy-related high blood pressure condition that can be fatal, according to The Guardian.
Attorneys representing Walker’s family filed the lawsuit Tuesday in Bexar County district court, naming Paxton, the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, several doctors, and other defendants. The filing alleges that “deliberate indifference, discrimination, and medical mistreatment ultimately caused her horrific and tragic death,” according to CBS News.
The lawsuit says Walker and members of her family requested an abortion as her condition reportedly worsened and she faced seizures and blood clots. Her family alleges doctors refused to provide the treatment.
The legal action also names Stephen Brint Carlton, the executive director of the Texas Medical Board, along with the University of Texas health system and individual doctors. The lawsuit further challenges Texas’ abortion ban as unconstitutional, according to ABC7.
Walker’s family alleges Paxton and Carlton deprived her of her right to life by enforcing “a merciless blanket prohibition” on abortion, and that doctors failed to provide medical treatment that could have saved her life.
Paxton, a Republican who is currently running for the U.S. Senate, has repeatedly defended Texas’ abortion ban. He has also filed lawsuits against doctors and organizations accused of sending abortion pills into Texas from other states. Last year, Paxton arrested eight people linked to a midwife accused of performing illegal abortions, calling the individuals “a cabal of abortion-loving radicals” and “fake doctors” in a press release, The Guardian reported.
Abortion is currently prohibited in Texas with only very limited exceptions, and providers can face criminal and civil penalties. Since the state’s near-total abortion ban took effect in 2021, the year before Roe v. Wade was overturned, reports have emerged of doctors denying or delaying abortion care even in high-risk or emergency situations. In some cases, patients had to be on the cusp of death before medical staff would intervene, according to The Guardian.