Family Of 37-Year-Old Tierra Walker Is Suing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, University Health And Other Officials, Alleging She Was Denied An Abortion Despite Life-Threatening Pregnancy Complications
The family of a San Antonio woman who died while 20 weeks pregnant has filed a lawsuit against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and several medical and government officials, alleging the state’s abortion restrictions prevented her from receiving care that could have saved her life.
Tierra Walker, 37, died in December 2024 after suffering a series of serious health complications during her pregnancy, including seizures, blood clots, uncontrolled high blood pressure and, ultimately, preeclampsia.
Her family alleges Walker repeatedly asked medical providers to terminate the pregnancy because she feared continuing it would kill her, but doctors did not provide an abortion.
The lawsuit, filed in Bexar County, names Paxton, the executive director of the Texas Medical Board, the University of Texas at San Antonio Health Science Center, the Bexar County Hospital District, several physicians and Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales.
The complaint also challenges the constitutionality of Texas’ abortion ban.
Family Says Walker Repeatedly Asked For An Abortion
According to the lawsuit, Walker had several chronic medical conditions before becoming pregnant, including hypertension, Type 2 diabetes, a seizure disorder and severe asthma. She also had a history of complicated pregnancies.
Her health had reportedly been improving in 2024 before she suffered several seizures in September and was taken to University Hospital in San Antonio.
There, Walker learned she was nearly six weeks pregnant and had elevated blood pressure, according to the complaint.
The lawsuit alleges Walker continued suffering seizures and significant pain but was eventually discharged and instructed to follow up for prenatal care.
By late October, at approximately 11 weeks pregnant, Walker was being treated for high blood pressure when doctors discovered what the lawsuit describes as a severe blood clot in her left leg. She was transferred to an emergency room and underwent a thrombectomy to remove the clot.
According to the complaint, Walker and members of her family told hospital staff they believed continuing the pregnancy could cost her life and asked whether the pregnancy could be terminated.
The lawsuit alleges hospital staff did not counsel Walker about abortion as a possible medical treatment or suggest that she travel outside Texas for care.
Her symptoms continued in the following weeks, including seizures, headaches, nausea, asthma and high blood pressure, according to the complaint.
Between Nov. 7 and Dec. 27, Walker attended prenatal appointments before she was diagnosed with preeclampsia in the University Health emergency room on Dec. 27.
Three days later, on Dec. 30, her teenage son found her unresponsive at home, according to the lawsuit. Walker died at 20 weeks pregnant.
ABC News reported that it could not independently verify the medical allegations contained in the lawsuit.
Lawsuit Challenges Texas Abortion Restrictions
Texas generally prohibits abortions, although state law contains an exception when a physician determines that a pregnant patient has a life-threatening physical condition that puts her at risk of death or serious impairment of a major bodily function without an abortion.
The Texas Supreme Court upheld the state’s abortion law in 2024 and said physicians may intervene before a patient is at imminent risk of death or serious physical impairment.
Walker’s family argues her case shows that the exception did not provide meaningful access to care when doctors faced the possibility of criminal charges, civil penalties and professional consequences for violating the law.
“Tierra Walker was a wife, mother, and the glue that held together her extended family,” Molly Duane, litigation director for Amplify Legal, said during a Wednesday press conference.
Duane said Walker and her family repeatedly sought an abortion during the four months she was pregnant.
The lawsuit was filed by Amplify Legal, the litigation arm of the nonprofit Abortion in America, and the Marynell Maloney Law Firm. The plaintiffs are seeking financial damages for Walker’s family as well as changes connected to their constitutional challenge.
Walker’s aunt and lead plaintiff, LaTanya Walker, described the loss of her niece and its lasting impact on the family.
“It’s horrible that she’s gone and she was taken from us this way,” she said. “It’s horrible that she’s not here anymore. It’s horrible that we can’t have holidays.”
University Health told ABC News it could not discuss an individual patient’s care or ongoing litigation.
The health system said, more broadly, that its clinicians make decisions based on each patient’s condition, medical standards and applicable legal requirements, and that concerns about patient care are reviewed through internal clinical and quality procedures.
UT Health San Antonio said it did not have information to provide at the time.
ABC News also reported that requests for comment were sent to Paxton’s office, the Texas Medical Board and Gonzales’ office.
The case now places the death of a San Antonio mother at the center of the continuing legal dispute over how Texas’ abortion restrictions operate when doctors believe a pregnancy threatens a patient’s health.
