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Lawsuit accuses Ken Paxton of violating pregnant Tierra Walker’s rights

By Drooid · Sep 17, 2026, 4:07 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

Ken Paxton Sued

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is sued in Bexar County Court over the death of pregnant woman Tierra Walker.
Walker died in December 2024 at 20 weeks pregnant after severe preeclampsia.
The suit alleges deliberate indifference, discrimination, and mistreatment by Paxton and Texas Medical Board director Stephen Brint Carlton.
Texas’s 2022 law bans most abortions, permitting them only when a mother’s life or health is at risk.

Summary

University Health Denies Care

University Health staff repeatedly told Walker “nothing is wrong with the baby” and refused abortion counseling.
Walker previously miscarried twins in 2021 due to pre-eclampsia complications.
At 11 weeks she developed a severe blood clot in her left leg that required a thrombectomy.
During her final ER visit on Dec. 27, 2024 doctors diagnosed pre-eclampsia and discharged her home.
Republican Senate candidate Paxton cited Walker’s case at a Dallas convention on Sept. 9, 2026.

History

Historical Context

After the 1992 5-4 Planned Parenthood v. Casey decision introduced the “undue-burden” test, Texas lawmakers used that latitude to enact the 2021 Heartbeat Act, signed by Gov. Greg Abbott, banning abortions after about six weeks and allowing private lawsuits. Following the 2022 Dobbs overturn of Roe, the law’s narrow health exception sparked the December 2024 death-related suit against Attorney General Ken Paxton and medical-board director Stephen Carlton.

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Ken Paxton Sued

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is sued in Bexar County Court over the death of pregnant woman Tierra Walker.
Walker died in December 2024 at 20 weeks pregnant after severe preeclampsia.
The suit alleges deliberate indifference, discrimination, and mistreatment by Paxton and Texas Medical Board director Stephen Brint Carlton.
Texas’s 2022 law bans most abortions, permitting them only when a mother’s life or health is at risk.

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