The family of Tierra Walker, who died while pregnant, sued Texas over its abortion ban. The lawsuit claims state officials created a climate of fear that kept doctors from ending her pregnancy before she died.

Tierra Walker lived in San Antonio with her husband and 15-year-old son. Days after an emergency room sent her home with a diagnosis of pre-eclampsia in 2024, her son found her dead on his 15th birthday. On Tuesday, her aunt Latanya Walker sued Attorney General Ken Paxton and others, arguing her death resulted from the state's abortion ban.

The suit argues the law's medical emergency exception exists only on paper and that doctors who invoke it risk prison, fines, and license loss. It names Paxton, the head of the Texas Medical Board, the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, and several doctors who treated her.

The plaintiff seeks unspecified damages. Paxton's office did not respond to a request for comment. Officials with the Texas Medical Board and the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio declined to comment. Latanya Walker is represented by Amplify Legal and the Marynell Maloney Law Firm.