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[POLITICS] · United States · 13 sources

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Texas family sues Ken Paxton and doctors over woman's death

The family of Tierra Walker, a 37-year-old woman from San Antonio, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Bexar County District Court, alleging that Texas’ abortion restrictions prevented her from receiving life-saving medical care. Walker died in December 2024 while 20 weeks pregnant after developing preeclampsia, a severe pregnancy-related blood pressure disorder. Her family claims she and her relatives repeatedly requested an abortion as her health deteriorated, experiencing seizures and blood clots, but were denied by medical providers.

The lawsuit names several defendants, including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Texas Medical Board Executive Director Stephen Brint Carlton, the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, the Bexar County Hospital District, and various physicians. The plaintiffs allege “deliberate indifference, discrimination, and medical mistreatment” and are challenging the constitutionality of Texas’ abortion ban.

While Texas law allows for abortion exceptions in cases where a pregnancy poses a life-threatening condition, the lawsuit argues that the legal risks and the state’s “merciless blanket prohibition” deterred doctors from acting. The Texas Medical Board has stated that physicians are permitted to provide life-saving care, including terminating a pregnancy under certain conditions, but the case seeks to test how these exceptions operate in practice.

Entities

Bexar County · Ken Paxton · Texas Medical Board · Tierra Walker · University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

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