Texas woman with a high-risk pregnancy dies after being repeatedly denied abortion care.
The death of 37-year-old Tierra Walker is reportedly the fourth case of its kind in Texas.
A Texas mother who begged doctors for an abortion because of serious medical risks died after being refused care, according to a new ProPublica investigation. The death of 37-year-old Tierra Walker is the fourth similar case the nonprofit has identified in Texas since the state’s abortion ban took effect.
Walker began having unexplained seizures only a few weeks into her 2024 pregnancy. Given her history of preeclampsia — the serious condition that had once led to the loss of her twins — she asked her doctors whether ending the pregnancy might safeguard her health. KVUE reports that her request was denied.
About two months later, Walker’s teenage son discovered her unresponsive in her room on his birthday. She was 20 weeks pregnant at the time.
“This is the fourth case ProPublica has uncovered,” journalist Kavitha Surana said, referencing earlier incidents involving Josseli Barnica, Nevaeh Crain, and Porsha Ngumezi. She told KVUE that her team has spent more than a year investigating maternal deaths in states with abortion bans. “So far, we’ve identified three cases in Texas and two in Georgia linked to restrictions on reproductive care.”
Surana said they learned about Walker’s case through her family, who had been with her during multiple ER and prenatal visits. “They witnessed her health decline firsthand,” she explained, noting that Walker grew increasingly worried as her seizures persisted, her blood pressure rose, and blood clots formed.
More than a dozen OB-GYN specialists examined Walker’s medical records for ProPublica. According to Surana, the experts agreed that proper care would have involved repeated counseling on her risks and the option to end the pregnancy at any point to protect her health. Instead, Walker “was dismissed,” her family told reporters.
As Walker’s condition became increasingly dangerous, Texas law left doctors unsure about when they could legally step in. “These laws don’t allow much flexibility… they don’t include exceptions for health risks,” Surana explained. She added that physicians fear harsh criminal penalties — including up to 99 years in prison and the loss of their medical license.
Walker ultimately died from preeclampsia, worsened by an enlarged heart, fluid retention, and kidney damage. “She didn’t fully understand how perilous her pregnancy had become,” Surana said.
Texas lawmakers have since passed a bill meant to give doctors more discretion, but it went into effect only after Walker’s death. When ProPublica asked the bill’s sponsors whether it would apply to cases like hers, none responded. Only one Democratic legislator replied, saying the changes “didn’t go far enough.”
Walker leaves behind her 14-year-old son — the child she feared she might not live long enough to watch grow up, her family said.
