The family of Tierra Walker, who died at 37 from preeclampsia while pregnant, has filed a lawsuit in Texas. The suit alleges she was denied an abortion that could have saved her life as her condition worsened. Lawyers for Walker’s family submitted the lawsuit Tuesday in Bexar County District Court. They accuse Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, several doctors, and others of ‘deliberate indifference, discrimination, and medical mistreatment’ leading to her death in 2024. Preeclampsia is a severe high blood pressure condition during pregnancy, posing fatal risks.
Walker’s family claims Paxton, a Senate candidate, and Stephen Brint Carlton, director of the Texas Medical Board, denied her right to life by enforcing a ‘merciless blanket prohibition’ on abortion. The doctors involved allegedly failed to offer necessary medical treatment. Paxton has defended Texas’ near-total abortion ban, filing lawsuits against out-of-state abortion pill providers. His office has yet to comment.
‘At every turn, Texas’s political and medical establishments not only failed but actively harmed Ms. Walker,’ the lawsuit states.
‘Tierra Walker is dead because her healthcare providers refused the medical procedure that could have saved her life,’ attorney Michelle Maloney, representing the family, told CBS News. Walker’s health was deteriorating and Muloney attributed the lack of care to ‘the immense culture of fear’ surrounding abortion in Texas since the 2022 ban’s implementation.
Walker was nearly eight weeks pregnant on September 19, 2024, during an ER visit. She had been improving her health after years of chronic health challenges, including obesity, high blood pressure, asthma, and diabetes. Just three years earlier, she experienced preeclampsia during a twin pregnancy that resulted in stillbirths. Her health declined, leading to a protracted hospital stay. Her family reported her pleas for an abortion fearing for her life. On multiple occasions, she asked for the procedure but was refused, according to the lawsuit.
Medical staff reportedly did not document her requests for an abortion, nor record the refusal. The lawsuit alleges hospital staff countered requests for ending the pregnancy by stating, ‘The baby is fine,’ neglecting Walker’s health. Despite being at high risk of death, Walker was discharged from the hospital, only to be readmitted shortly after.
The Texas Medical Board explained that under its rules, physicians can provide necessary medical care without waiting for the mother’s life to be in immediate danger. This includes terminating a pregnancy in certain situations. Walker’s niece, LaTanya, described Walker’s concern for her teenage son, expressing her wish to survive for him.
Walker’s final hospital visit on December 27 led to a preeclampsia diagnosis. Despite critical complications, she wasn’t offered an abortion. Her discharge documents suggested delivery (abortion) might be best to treat preeclampsia. Yet she was sent home, where she died days later on her son’s 15th birthday.
Texas enacted new legislation in 2025, aiming to clarify medical exemptions under the near-total abortion ban and bolster legal rights for practitioners offering life-saving abortions. However, many medical professionals remain apprehensive about legal consequences. Walker’s case has highlighted ongoing issues with the law and its effects on patient care. Walker’s attorneys filed the lawsuit close to the expiration of the two-year statute of limitations, denying any political motivation.