Family claims abortion ban kept doctors from saving Texas woman
SAN ANTONIO - The family of a Texas woman is claiming doctors refused to provide a potentially life-saving abortion in response to the woman's worsening health issues, because of the state's total abortion ban.
Family of Tierra Walker sues Paxton, state medical board director
The family of Tierra Walker is suing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Texas Medical Board executive director Stephen Brint Carlton, the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio and doctors who provided care.
What they're saying:
"At every turn, Texas’s political and medical establishments not only failed but actively harmed Ms. Walker," the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit specifically names Paxton and Carlton as defendants, saying they "imposed a merciless blanket prohibition on abortion that intimidates doctors into inaction."
Paxton has long defended Texas' near-total abortion ban, going after offices he believes are providing illegal abortions, suing providers that ship abortion-inducing medications and recently intervened in a surrogacy case involving a baby with a severe heart defect.
"Tierra Walker is proof that there is no exception. If she did not qualify, if even her doctors were too scared to act, then the medical emergency exception is nothing more than words on a page," Molly Duane, Litigation Director of Amplify Legal, said. "Texans are dying because of abortion bans and Ken Paxton and the state of Texas are just letting it happen."
Lawsuit claims Walker suffered seizure and blood clots during pregnancy
The backstory:
According to the lawsuit, Walker experienced seizures, blood clots and dangerously high blood pressure during the first four months of her pregnancy. She saw more than 100 doctors during that time, while asking for an abortion. The lawsuit states that doctors responded with "your baby is fine" and disregarded Walker's health.
The 37-year-old Walker was living in San Antonio in Sept. 2024, when she had several seizures and was taken to University Hospital where she found out she was around six weeks pregnant. The lawsuit states Walker had been working to get her health on track from several chronic health problems, including obesity, high blood pressure, asthma and Type 2 diabetes.
The lawsuit states she had preeclampsia while pregnant with twins three years prior, which led to the stillbirth of the twins.
The emergency room doctor noted that it was "too early in pregnancy to have eclampsia" and Walker's blood pressure medications were adjusted to account for the pregnancy and she was sent home.
She came back to the hospital hours later after continuing to have seizures. The lawsuit states she was vomiting, dizzy and had a headache.
According to court records, Walker had multiple stays in the hospital in September and October 2024. During one stay, Walker and her family told doctors that the pregnancy "was going to cost Ms. Walker her life" and asked for an abortion.
"Despite the clear risk to her life in continuing the pregnancy, none of University Health’s staff counseled Ms. Walker on the possibility of abortion as a life-saving medical treatment, offered her this treatment, or suggested that she leave the state," the lawsuit claims. "Instead, hospital staff kept insisting 'nothing is wrong with the baby' and continued to refuse the care that she needed on that basis."
Court records show that multiple doctors noted that Walker was at risk of death because of her medical conditions.
At Walker's last visit to the emergency room, doctors diagnosed her with preeclampsia, a medical condition that includes high blood pressure and protein in the urine. The treatment for the condition is early delivery.
Medical records from Walker's Dec. 28, 2024, discharge from the emergency room note that "delivering the baby may be the best treatment for preeclampsia," which would have meant an abortion at that stage of the pregnancy.
Days later, Walker's son found her unresponsive in her bed. It was his 15th birthday.
The other side:
The Attorney General's Office has not yet returned a request for comment. The UTSA Health Science Center declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Current Texas abortion ban
Texas law currently prohibits all abortions, including in cases of rape or incest, except in instances to save the life of the mother. Physicians can face up to 99 years in prison and be fined up to $100,000 if they perform an illegal abortion.
Last year, the legislature passed a law that attempted to clarify what would be considered a "life-threatening condition" and specified that doctors cannot face criminal charges for performing a medically-necessary abortion.
The Source: Information in this article comes from court records filed in Bexar County district court. Information on actions Paxton has previously taken in regard to the state's abortion laws comes from previous FOX Local reporting.