Texas family sues Attorney General and doctors over denied abortion that they say caused death
The relatives of Tierra Walker filed a lawsuit in Bexar County alleging that state officials and medical providers denied a life-saving abortion, violating Texas law and leading to her death from preeclampsia.
A Texas family has filed a civil suit in Bexar County District Court accusing Attorney General Ken Paxton, the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, several physicians and the Texas Medical Board of failing to provide a medically necessary abortion for 37-year-old Tierra Walker, who died of preeclampsia in 2024. The complaint alleges that the defendants acted with "deliberate indifference, discrimination, and medical mistreatment" that resulted in Walker’s death.
Walker, who was about 11 weeks pregnant when she first requested an abortion in October, experienced worsening hypertension, seizures and other complications. Hospital records show she was repeatedly discharged despite being classified as high risk for death, and that medical staff did not document any discussion of termination, even though she and her family said she asked for the procedure.
"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 not one of her … healthcare providers would give her the one medical procedure that would have saved her life," family attorney Michelle Maloney told reporters.
The Texas Medical Board responded that state rules allow physicians to provide necessary care, including pregnancy termination, before a mother’s life is in immediate danger. The university hospital declined comment on individual patients but said its priority is to deliver appropriate care while complying with applicable laws.
The case comes as Paxton, a Republican Senate candidate, has defended the state’s near-total abortion ban, which took effect in 2022 and includes a narrow medical-emergency exception. The lawsuit seeks damages and claims the ban’s enforcement created a “culture of fear” that discouraged doctors from documenting or offering abortions.
Legal analysts note that the filing coincides with the expiration of a two-year statute of limitations, and the plaintiffs assert that officials can be held personally liable for actions that lead to a citizen’s death.