Family sues Texas AG Ken Paxton over woman's death after abortion denial

The family of a Black Texas woman who died during her pregnancy is suing Attorney General and Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton, blaming his extreme abortion ban for her death.

The Case

San Antonio's Tierra Walker, 37, passed away in 2024 while she was 20 weeks pregnant. She had long experienced chronic health issues including type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. She first encountered preeclampsia—a potentially fatal disease that appears in women who are around 20 weeks pregnant—while carrying twins three years earlier. Both babies were stillborn, which, according to the lawsuit, "sent her into a health spiral."

In 2024, Walker became pregnant again after a positive streak of health. Soon, however, she began experiencing seizures, nausea, vomiting, and pain. After one emergency room visit, she was sent home, as doctors dismissed her symptoms as unrelated to her pregnancy and offered mental health treatments instead.

"They really treated her so bad because they thought she was crazy," Walker's aunt LaTanya Walker told CBS News. "One day they told me to tell her husband, 'Can you go tell him that this is all in her head?'"

Denied Care

Walker asked for an abortion twice during this time, at approximately eight and 11 weeks. She was denied. Even worse, doctors noted in their records that she was indeed at a "high" risk of death, yet discharged her from the hospital anyway. She returned a few days later.

"I asked them time and time again to give her an abortion. And they would tell me … 'It's her, but it's not the baby,'" LaTanya said, alleging that doctors ignored abortion requests from both her and Tierra—and hid the requests from their records.

"We have reviewed dozens of cases," said Molly Duane, a lawyer for the Walker family. "And what is clear is that doctors are so scared to even write the word in their medical chart that it does not appear there."

Final Days

It wasn't until December 27 that Walker returned to the hospital and was formally diagnosed with preeclampsia—nearly three months after experiencing multiple complications related to it. Still, she was denied an abortion.

"Medical guidelines say she should've been admitted, stabilized, and given medicine to prevent seizures," CBS News medical correspondent Dr. Céline Gounder said. "Her pregnancy should have been terminated since her baby was likely too young to survive. Instead, she was sent home."

Walker was found dead in her home just a few days later, of preeclampsia and hypertension.

The Lawsuit

Her family is laying her death at the feet of Paxton and his abortion ban.

"At every turn, Texas's political and medical establishments not only failed but actively harmed Ms. Walker," the lawsuit reads. "Tierra Walker is dead because not one of her … healthcare providers would give her the one medical procedure that would have saved her life."

"For months, Ms. Walker had been asking for termination of her pregnancy—even though this was a wanted pregnancy—because she did not think she would survive the pregnancy. Tragically, she was right. An abortion at any point during her pregnancy would have saved her life."

The suit also attributes the medical inaction to a chilling effect directly tied to Paxton, who has aggressively gone after medical professionals who have performed lifesaving abortions. Paxton's already scandal-stricken office has yet to publicly respond.

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Palantir Partners with Chipotle on Food Safety Platform

Palantir, the shadowy tech and surveillance company founded by right-wing billionaire Peter Thiel, is now working with Mexican restaurant chain Chipotle to supposedly track food safety issues.

Wired reports that Chipotle is developing a "food safety risk platform" hosted on Foundry, Palantir's main software platform. The platform compiles data including store pest incidents, employee illnesses, and Health Department scores to determine each store's risk level.

It is not clear how long the partnership has been ongoing or how widespread it is. As Wired notes, almost half of Palantir's business comes from American corporations, including food companies like General Mills, meat supplier Tyson, and the fast-food restaurant chain Wendy's. However, the tech company is better known for its contracts with government agencies.