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Tierra Walker had reached a breaking point. After learning of her pregnancy, the 37-year-old dental assistant found herself plagued by unexplained seizures and largely confined to a hospital bed. With elevated blood pressure and diabetes, she recognized her heightened risk of developing preeclampsia, a serious pregnancy complication that could endanger her life.
On the morning of October 14, 2024, she resolved to speak with her doctor about obtaining an abortion to safeguard her health for the sake of her 14-year-old son, JJ.
“Wouldn’t it be better for me not to have the baby?” she reportedly asked a physician at Methodist Hospital Northeast near San Antonio, according to her aunt. Years earlier, she had experienced a severe case of preeclampsia that resulted in the stillbirth of her twins.
However, her family stated that the doctor relayed a message that many medical professionals would echo in the ensuing weeks: there was no emergency; the problem lay not with her pregnancy, but with her health.
Tragically, just after Christmas, on his birthday, JJ discovered his mother lifeless on her bed. An autopsy would later confirm her worst fears: preeclampsia had claimed her life at 20 weeks into her pregnancy.
JJ now often revisits photos and videos of his mother. Walker’s death is among several cases being investigated where women with pre-existing health conditions succumbed after being denied the chance to terminate their pregnancies.
While Walker was aware that abortion was illegal in Texas, she had hoped that hospitals would make exceptions for patients like her, whose health was at stake.
The harsh reality is that in states with abortion bans, individuals with chronic health conditions and high-risk pregnancies often find themselves with limited options.
These patients frequently enter pregnancy already unwell and are expected to deteriorate further. Despite this, lawmakers who enacted the bans have refused to include exceptions for health risks. Consequently, many hospitals and physicians, wary of facing criminal charges, no longer provide terminations for these patients, leaving them in a precarious situation.
As Walker’s blood pressure fluctuated dramatically and a blood clot posed a lethal threat, she continued to advocate for herself during prenatal appointments and emergency visits, inquiring whether it was safe to proceed with her pregnancy. Although one doctor noted in her medical records that she was at “high risk of clinical deterioration and/or death,” her relatives claim she was repeatedly reassured not to worry. Despite the involvement of over 90 medical professionals in her care, none offered her the option of terminating her pregnancy, as detailed in her medical records.
Walker’s story unfolded during the fall of 2024, a period marked by widespread protests, media coverage, and electoral campaigns focused on the dangers posed by abortion bans. Investigations revealed that at least five women—three in Texas alone—had died after being unable to access necessary reproductive healthcare due to these new restrictions.
ProPublica synthesized over 6,500 pages of Walker’s medical records into a summary of her care, with oversight from two high-risk pregnancy specialists. A panel of more than a dozen OB-GYNs reviewed her case and concluded that given Walker’s persistently high blood pressure, it would have been standard practice to inform her of the serious risks associated with her pregnancy early on, revisit the conversation as complications arose, and offer termination at any stage should she wish to pursue it. Experts described her condition as a “ticking time bomb,” asserting that had Walker chosen to terminate her pregnancy, she would likely still be alive.
Many experts emphasized the necessity for patients to have the autonomy to decide the level of risk they are willing to accept during pregnancy. Walker had expressed a desire to avoid that risk, as her family attests. She cherished her vibrant life, her husband, and her son.
However, under Texas’ abortion laws, her wishes were disregarded.
On a sweltering September day, Walker lay on the couch with JJ after a walk with their two small dogs when she suddenly began shaking uncontrollably.
Alarmed, JJ called for an ambulance.
As the only child of a single mother, JJ regarded Walker as his closest companion, mentor, and protector. Each morning in their mobile home, he was greeted by her radiant smile and enthusiastic quizzes on vocabulary and state capitals. He admired her tenacity; in 2021, she had proposed to her boyfriend, Eric Carson, and they eloped. Just prior to her health decline, she had been discussing a potential move to Austin for a promotion at her dental clinic.
At the hospital, JJ was taken aback by her pallor and helplessness, with medical equipment co
ected to her body.
To Walker’s surprise, doctors quickly revealed that she was five weeks pregnant. They also noted dangerously high blood pressure levels that hinder circulation to vital organs and could lead to a heart attack or stroke. Dr. Je
ifer Lewey, director of the Pe
Women’s Cardiovascular Health Program and an expert in hypertension, explained that Walker’s age, weight, and medical history increased her risk of developing preeclampsia, a pregnancy-related blood pressure disorder.
“If I see a patient in her first trimester with this level of uncontrolled blood pressure—regardless of other factors—the discussion should revolve around whether we need to consider terminating the pregnancy to stabilize her health,” Dr. Lewey remarked.
As Walker progressed through her first trimester, the seizures persisted. Her body convulsed, her eyes rolled back, and she often lost the ability to communicate for up to half an hour. On some days, these episodes occurred in rapid succession, providing little respite.
For three weeks, she remained in Methodist hospitals, where doctors struggled to identify the cause of her spasms. Unable to leave her bed for fear of falling during a seizure, Walker became susceptible to blood clots. Soon, she developed one in her leg that threatened her life by potentially traveling to her lungs.
Carson kept vigil over her during the day, while her aunt Latanya Walker took care of her at night. Latanya panicked as she watched her resilient niece—known for her mantra of “quit your crying”—appear defeated. One evening, while Walker was hospitalized and around nine weeks pregnant, she confided in Latanya that during a seizure, she had a vision of her deceased grandmother and aunt preparing a place for her in the afterlife.
“You better tell them you’re not ready to go,” Latanya urged.
“I don’t know how much more I can take of this,” Walker whispered.
The following morning, Walker sought out a doctor to discuss terminating her pregnancy for health reasons. “Once we get you stabilized, everything will go smoothly,” the physician responded, as recalled by Latanya. The doctor assigned to her was not a specialist in high-risk pregnancies, a detail the Walkers did not recognize as significant. By the time the physician left the room, tears streamed down Walker’s face.
Dr. Elizabeth Langen, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist in Michigan who reviewed Walker’s case, expressed that a physician well-versed in high-risk pregnancies should have informed her of the dangers of continuing with the pregnancy and offered her an abortion. “The safest course of action for her was to terminate the pregnancy, without a doubt,” she stated.
During Walker’s numerous hospital and prenatal visits, 21 OB-GYNs were among the over 90 healthcare professionals involved in her care. Not one discussed the option of termination or the health benefits it could provide, as documented in her medical records.
In Texas, laws prohibit “aiding and abetting” an illegal abortion, resulting in many doctors refraining from even mentioning the procedure, as revealed in numerous interviews.
Given her medical condition, Walker could hardly entertain the idea of leaving the state. When her aunt suggested ordering abortion medication online, Walker feared she could face legal repercussions. Spending so much time in the hospital, she worried about the potential consequences of taking the pills.
At 12 weeks pregnant, she was admitted to University Hospital, where doctors noted that even while on anticoagulation medication, the clotting in her leg was severe enough to require a thrombectomy.
“This situation has evolved from ‘complicated but manageable’ to ‘we have a patient requiring major surgery during pregnancy, indicating that something is seriously wrong,’” stated Dr. Will Williams, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist in New Orleans, where abortion restrictions are also in effect. “In my practice, we would have a candid discussion about whether this is a patient we’d offer termination to at the point of thrombectomy.”
ProPublica reached out to five physicians involved in critical moments of Walker’s care,
