Family of Texas woman files lawsuit alleging abortion ban contributed to her death
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The relatives of Tierra Walker, who died from preeclampsia while pregnant, have sued state officials and medical providers, claiming Texas’s abortion restrictions prevented needed care.
A San Antonio family has filed a civil suit in state district court alleging that Texas’s abortion law impeded medical treatment for 37-year-old Tierra Walker, who died in December 2024 while 20 weeks pregnant. The complaint names Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Texas Medical Board, UT Health San Antonio, several Bexar County entities and a number of physicians as defendants.
According to court documents, Walker experienced seizures, blood clots and severe hypertension during her pregnancy, conditions that progressed to preeclampsia and hypertensive cardiovascular disease. The family says she repeatedly sought an abortion as her health declined but was denied the procedure because of the state’s restrictions, which they argue discouraged doctors from acting.
Texas’s abortion ban, enacted in August 2022 after the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade, includes an exception for pregnancies that threaten a woman’s life or major bodily function. The plaintiffs contend that the law’s implementation effectively barred them from accessing that exception.
Representing the family, attorney Molly Duane of Amplify Legal said, "The basic principle here is that you cannot take away someone's life as a state and not be held liable for doing so." The family’s lead plaintiff, LaTanya Walker, told reporters, "Her life mattered. It mattered. And I wouldn’t want this to happen to anyone else."
The Texas Medical Board responded to CBS News that physicians are not required to wait until a mother’s life is in immediate danger before providing necessary care, which may include terminating a pregnancy in certain cases. Neither the Attorney General’s office nor UT Health San Antonio provided comment at the time of filing.