![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251005_Parra-Abortion-Deaths-Chronic-Conditions_38-cropped.jpg\")
A photo of Tierra La\u2019Nesa Walker and her son, JJ, sits on a desk in her bedroom at home, Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025, in San Antonio. Walker died in December, after being unable to terminate a pregnancy that caused her to experience seizures, blood clots and hypertension. Credit: ProPublica \/ Lexi Parra<\/p>\n
This story was\u00a0originally published by ProPublica<\/a>. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for\u00a0The Big Story newsletter<\/a>\u00a0to receive stories like this one in your inbox.<\/p>\n Tierra Walker had reached her limit. In the weeks since she\u2019d learned she was pregnant, the 37-year-old dental assistant had been wracked by unexplained seizures and mostly confined to a hospital cot. With soaring blood pressure and diabetes, she knew she was at high risk of developing preeclampsia, a pregnancy complication that could end her life.\u00a0<\/p>\n Her mind was made up on the morning of Oct. 14, 2024: For the sake of her 14-year-old son, JJ, she needed to ask her doctor for an abortion to protect her health.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWouldn\u2019t you think it would be better for me to not have the baby?\u201d she asked a physician at Methodist Hospital Northeast near San Antonio, according to her aunt. Just a few years earlier, Walker had developed a dangerous case of preeclampsia that had led to the stillbirth of her twins.<\/p>\n But the doctor, her family said, told her what many other medical providers would say in the weeks that followed: There was no emergency; nothing was wrong with her pregnancy, only her health.\u00a0<\/p>\n Just after Christmas, on his birthday, JJ found his mom draped over her bed, lifeless. An autopsy would later confirm what she had feared: Preeclampsia killed her at 20 weeks pregnant.<\/p>\n Walker\u2019s death is one of multiple cases ProPublica is investigating in which women with underlying health conditions died after they were unable to end their pregnancies.<\/p>\n Walker had known that abortion was illegal in Texas, but she had thought that hospitals could make an exception for patients like her, whose health was at risk.\u00a0<\/p>\n The reality: In states that ban abortion, patients with chronic conditions and other high-risk pregnancies often have nowhere to turn.\u00a0<\/p>\n They enter pregnancy sick and are expected to get sicker. Yet lawmakers who wrote the bans have refused to create exceptions for health risks. As a result, many hospitals and doctors, facing the threat of criminal charges, no longer offer these patients terminations, ProPublica found in interviews with more than 100 OB-GYNs across the country. Instead, these women are left to gamble with their lives.\u00a0<\/p>\n As Walker\u2019s blood pressure swung wildly and a blood clot threatened to kill her, she continued to press doctors at prenatal appointments and emergency room visits, asking if it was safe for her to continue the pregnancy. Although one doctor documented in her medical record that she was at \u201chigh risk of clinical deterioration and\/or death,\u201d she was told over and over again that she didn\u2019t need to worry, her relatives say. More than 90 doctors were involved in Walker\u2019s care, but not one offered her the option to end her pregnancy, according to medical records.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Walker\u2019s case unfolded during the fall of 2024, when the dangers of abortion bans were a focus of protests, media coverage and electoral campaigns across the country. ProPublica had revealed that five women \u2014 three<\/a> in Texas<\/a> alone<\/a> \u2014 had died after they were unable to access standard reproductive care under the new bans.\u00a0<\/p>\n ProPublica condensed more than 6,500 pages of Walker\u2019s medical records into a summary of her care with the guidance of two high-risk pregnancy specialists. More than a dozen OB-GYNs reviewed the case for ProPublica and said that since Walker had persistently high blood pressure, it would have been standard medical practice to advise her of the serious risks of her pregnancy early on, to revisit the conversation as new complications emerged and to offer termination at any point if she wanted it. Some described her condition as a \u201cticking time bomb.\u201d Had Walker ended her pregnancy, every expert believed, she would not have died.\u00a0<\/p>\n Many said that her case illustrated why they think all patients need the freedom to choose how much risk they are willing to take during pregnancy. Walker expressed that she didn\u2019t want to take that risk, her family says. She had a vibrant life, a husband and son whom she loved.\u00a0<\/p>\n Under Texas\u2019 abortion law, though, that didn\u2019t matter. <\/p>\n \u2018I don\u2019t know how much more I can take\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n On a hot September day, Walker was lying down with JJ after a walk with their two small dogs, Milo and Twinkie, when she started shaking uncontrollably.\u00a0<\/p>\n Terrified, JJ called 911, asking for an ambulance.\u00a0<\/p>\n As the only child of a single mom, JJ had always considered Walker his closest friend, coach and protector wrapped in one. In their mobile home, JJ was greeted each morning by his mom\u2019s wide smile and upturned eyes, as she shot off vocabulary quizzes or grilled him on state capitals. He loved how fearlessly she went after what she wanted; in 2021, she had proposed to her boyfriend, Eric Carson, and the two eloped. She\u2019d just been talking about moving the family to Austin for a promotion she was offered at a dental clinic.\u00a0<\/p>\n At the hospital, JJ was shocked to see her so pale and helpless, with wires snaking from her head and arms.\u00a0<\/p>\n To Walker\u2019s surprise, doctors quickly discovered that she was five weeks pregnant. They also noted hypertension at levels so high that it reduces circulation to major organs and can cause a heart attack or stroke. That, and her weight, age and medical history, put Walker at an increased risk of developing preeclampsia, a pregnancy-related blood pressure disorder, said Dr. Jennifer Lewey, director of the Penn Women\u2019s Cardiovascular Health Program and expert in hypertension.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I\u2019m seeing a patient in her first trimester and her blood pressure is this uncontrolled \u2014 never mind anything else \u2014 what I\u2019m talking about is: Your pregnancy will be so high risk, do we need to think about terminating the pregnancy and getting your health under control?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n As Walker\u2019s first trimester continued, she kept seizing. Her body convulsed, her eyes rolled back and she was often unable to speak for up to 30 minutes at a time. Some days, the episodes came in rapid waves, with little relief.\u00a0<\/p>\n For three weeks, she stayed at Methodist hospitals; doctors were not able to determine what was causing the spasms. Walker couldn\u2019t get out of bed, in case a seizure made her fall, and this left her vulnerable to blood clots. She soon developed one in her leg that posed a new lethal threat: It could travel to her lungs and kill her instantly.<\/p>\n Carson watched over her during the day and her aunt Latanya Walker took the night shift. She was panicked that her tough niece, whose constant mantra was \u201cquit your crying,\u201d now seemed defeated. One evening, during Walker\u2019s third hospitalization, when she was about 9 weeks pregnant, she told Latanya she\u2019d had a vision during a seizure: Her grandmother and aunt, who had died years earlier, were preparing a place for her on the other side.<\/p>\n \u201cYou better tell them you\u2019re not ready to go,\u201d Latanya said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know how much more I can take of this,\u201d Walker whispered.\u00a0<\/p>\n The next morning, Walker called for a doctor and asked about ending her pregnancy for the sake of her health. \u201cWhen we get you under control, then everything will go smoothly,\u201d the doctor replied, Latanya recalled. The physician on the floor was not an OB-GYN with the expertise to give a high-risk consultation, but the Walkers didn\u2019t realize that this mattered. By the time the doctor left the room, her aunt said, tears streamed down Walker\u2019s cheeks.<\/p>\n Dr. Elizabeth Langen, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist in Michigan who reviewed Walker\u2019s case, said a physician comfortable with high-risk pregnancies should have counseled her on the dangers of continuing and offered her an abortion. \u201cThe safest thing for her was to terminate this pregnancy, that\u2019s for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n During Walker\u2019s many hospital and prenatal visits, 21 OB-GYNs were among the more than 90 physicians involved in her care. None of them counseled her on the option \u2014 or the health benefits \u2014 of a termination, according to medical records.\u00a0<\/p>\n In Texas, the law bars \u201caiding and abetting\u201d an illegal abortion. As a result, many physicians have avoided even mentioning it, according to interviews with dozens of doctors.\u00a0<\/p>\n In her condition, Walker couldn\u2019t fathom leaving the state. When her aunt suggested ordering abortion medication online, Walker was worried she could go to jail. She was spending so much time in the hospital; what if she got caught taking the pills?\u00a0<\/p>\n At 12 weeks pregnant, she was admitted to University Hospital. Doctors there noted that even on anticoagulation medication, the clotting in Walker\u2019s leg was so profound that she needed a thrombectomy to remove it.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAt this point, we\u2019ve gone from \u2018complicated, but within the realm of normal\u2019 to \u2018we\u2019ve got someone with a major procedure in pregnancy that tells us something isn\u2019t going well,\u2019\u201d said Dr. Will Williams, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist in New Orleans, where an abortion ban is also in place. \u201cIn my practice, we\u2019d have a frank discussion about whether this is a person we\u2019d offer a termination to at the point of thrombectomy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n ProPublica reached out to five physicians who were involved in key moments of Walker\u2019s care: the hospitalist on duty on Oct. 14, 2024, when she asked about ending her pregnancy; three OB-GYNs; and a hospitalist on duty at the time of her thrombectomy. They did not respond. The hospitals Walker visited, including those run by University Health System and Methodist Healthcare, which is co-owned by HCA, did not comment on Walker\u2019s care, despite permission from her family. Although the Walkers have not pursued legal action, they have engaged a lawyer. A University Health System spokesperson said that it is the company\u2019s policy not to comment on potential litigation.\u00a0<\/p>\n In her second trimester, Walker\u2019s seizures continued and her hypertension remained out of control. At an appointment on Dec. 27, at around 20 weeks, a doctor noted spiking blood pressure and sent her to University Hospital\u2019s ER. There, doctors recorded a diagnosis of preeclampsia.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The experts who reviewed Walker\u2019s vital signs for ProPublica said her blood pressure of 174 over 115 was so concerning at that point, she needed to be admitted and monitored. Most questioned her doctor\u2019s choice not to label her condition as severe. The treatment for severe preeclampsia, which points to a problem with the placenta, is delivery \u2014 or, at 20 weeks, an abortion.\u00a0<\/p>\n Instead, doctors lowered her blood pressure with medication and sent her home.\u00a0<\/p>\n Three days later, JJ crawled into bed with his mom and fed her soup. \u201cI\u2019m so sorry,\u201d Walker croaked. \u201cIt\u2019s your birthday and it shouldn\u2019t be like this.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n He told his mom it was okay. He hadn\u2019t expected laser tag or a trip to Dave & Buster\u2019s this year. Over the past few months, when his mom was home, he had tried his best to make things easier on her, walking the dogs when she was out of breath, checking in every hour or so with a hug. JJ knew that after missing so many days of work, she had lost her job. She was stressed about getting enough food for the house. He was relieved when he heard her snoring \u2014 at least she was resting.<\/p>\n That afternoon, when his stepdad was out grocery shopping and his grandmother was just getting back from dialysis, he cracked open the door to Walker\u2019s room.\u00a0<\/p>\n His mom was lying face-down in bed, as if she had fallen over while getting up. JJ ran over and tried to find any sign she was breathing. When he called 911, a dispatcher coached him to slide her to the rug and start CPR.<\/p>\n \u201cI need you,\u201d he shouted as he leaned over his mom, pressing down on her chest. \u201cI need you!\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018We have to allow for more exceptions\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n The anti-abortion activists who helped shape America\u2019s latest wave of abortion bans have long seen health exemptions as a loophole that would get in the way of their goals. They fear such exceptions, if included in the laws, would allow virtually anyone to terminate a pregnancy<\/a>.<\/p>\n In Idaho, an anti-abortion leader testifying at a state Senate hearing suggested doctors would use health exceptions to give abortions to patients with headaches.\u00a0<\/p>\n In South Dakota, a pregnant Republican lawmaker with a high risk of blood clots begged her colleagues to consider creating a health exception that would protect her; her bill never made it to a hearing.\u00a0<\/p>\n In Tennessee, an anti-abortion lobbyist with no medical training fought and defeated an amendment to the state law that would allow a health exception to \u201cprevent\u201d an emergency. He testified in the state Capitol that the carve-out was too broad since some pregnancy complications \u201cwork themselves out.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The refusal to entertain these broader exceptions is particularly consequential given the state of women\u2019s health. Women are entering pregnancy older and sicker than they have in decades. The rate of blood pressure disorders in pregnancy has more than doubled since 1993; they now affect up to 15% of U.S. pregnancies. And they\u2019re most prevalent in states with restrictive abortion policies, according to a 2023 study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology<\/a>. The burden of disease falls heaviest on Black women, like Walker, for an array of reasons: neighborhood disinvestment, poor access to health care and discrimination in the medical system. Cuts to Medicaid funding and changes to the Affordable Care Act are likely to exacerbate these problems, according to experts.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Other countries give pregnant women and their doctors far more control over the medical decision to terminate. Across Europe, for example, most laws permit abortion for any reason through the first trimester, when more than 90% of abortions occur. After that gestational limit, their statutes also tend to include broad health exceptions that can be used for chronic conditions, illnesses that develop in pregnancy, fetal anomalies and, in some countries, mental health.\u00a0<\/p>\n U.S. abortion bans generally restrict interventions to a far more limited set of health risks, like a \u201clife-threatening medical emergency\u201d or \u201csubstantial and irreversible\u201d harm to major organs. A small subset of lawyers and doctors argue that the law can and should be interpreted to cover patients with chronic conditions that are worsening in pregnancy. But the vaguely written bans threaten criminal penalties for performing an illegal abortion \u2014 in Texas, up to 99 years behind bars. In practice, few hospitals grant health exceptions<\/a>, ProPublica\u2019s reporting has found.<\/p>\n Dr. Jessica Tarleton, an OB-GYN who provides abortions in South Carolina, recalled how much changed at her hospital when the state\u2019s ban was put in place: OB-GYNs who want to provide an abortion to a patient with a health risk now need to get a maternal-fetal medicine specialist to explicitly write in the chart that it is necessary, in compliance with the law. Not many doctors are willing to do so.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSome people were not because of their personal beliefs, and some because they didn\u2019t want to be involved in any kind of potential legal actions,\u201d Tarleton said. \u201cThey didn\u2019t want their opinion to have anything to do with a patient getting an abortion or not.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Recently, for example, Cristina Nu\u00f1ez sued two hospitals in El Paso for their inaction in her care in 2023. She had diabetes, uncontrolled blood pressure and end-stage kidney disease when she learned she was unexpectedly pregnant at 36. Doctors wrote in her medical record that \u201cshe needs termination based on threat to maternal life or health,\u201d but Nu\u00f1ez alleged that one hospital failed to find an anesthesiologist willing to participate. She remained pregnant for weeks, even as blood clots turned her right arm black, until an advocacy organization threatened legal action and she was able to obtain an abortion. The lawsuit is ongoing.\u00a0<\/p>\n This year, Texas Republicans passed legislation with minor <\/a>amendments to their ban after ProPublica reported the deaths of three miscarrying women who did not receive critical abortion care during emergencies. In the updated law, an emergency still needs to be \u201clife-threatening\u201d to qualify for an abortion, but it no longer needs to be \u201cimminent.\u201d Doctors expect that most hospitals still won\u2019t provide abortions to women like Walker who have dangerous chronic conditions but no certain threat to their lives.\u00a0<\/p>\n ProPublica asked Sen. Bryan Hughes, the author of Texas\u2019 abortion ban, about how the specific complications Walker faced should be treated by doctors under the amended law. When her pregnancy began, would she be eligible for an abortion due to her health? Would she need to wait for a diagnosis of severe preeclampsia? Is there a reason the law doesn\u2019t include an exception for health risks? ProPublica put the same questions to the 20 state senators who co-wrote the bipartisan amendment.\u00a0<\/p>\n Only Sen. Carol Alvarado, a Democrat, responded. In her view, the amendment was far too narrow. But, she said, her Republican colleagues defer to the far right of their base and oppose broader exceptions.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t proclaim to be pro-life, but you\u2019re passing laws that are endangering women and causing death,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have to allow for more exceptions.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018So you\u2019d rather let somebody die?\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n After Walker died, her family felt bewildered by her medical care. The doctors had assured them that her baby was healthy and she would be fine. The autopsy found that the fetus was indeed healthy, at just under a pound and measuring 9 inches long. But it showed that Walker had\u00a0 hypertensive cardiovascular disease with preeclampsia, along with an enlarged heart, dangerously full of fluid, and kidney damage \u2014 signs that her condition had declined even more than she knew.\u00a0<\/p>\n In Carson\u2019s mind, the many doctors they saw cast the risks as challenges that would be overcome if his wife followed directions. \u201cShe was doing what they told her to do,\u201d he said. He couldn\u2019t understand how no one suggested ending the pregnancy to keep Walker safe. \u201cNobody said nothing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Latanya worried the law played a role. \u201cThey didn\u2019t want to offer to end the pregnancy, because the government or someone says you can\u2019t? So you\u2019d rather let somebody die?\u201d she said. \u201cNow we are the ones that have to suffer.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n JJ couldn\u2019t bear to stay in the home where he had found his mom, so he moved in with Latanya. Each day, he scrolls through old videos on the computer so he can hear Walker\u2019s voice.\u00a0<\/p>\n Latanya does everything she can to support him, but she knows she can\u2019t erase his pain.\u00a0<\/p>\n She recalls watching JJ steady himself at Walker\u2019s funeral, to see her one last time. Until that point, he hadn\u2019t cried.<\/p>\n When he finally faced the open casket where his mom lay holding her fetus, JJ sank to his knees, overcome. His aunt, uncles, cousins and grandmother gathered around him and rocked him in their arms.<\/p>\n Subscribe to SA Current newsletters.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Follow us:\u00a0Apple News<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Google News<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0NewsBreak<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Reddit<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Facebook\u00a0<\/a>| Twitter<\/a>\u00a0| Or sign up for our\u00a0RSS Feed<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Related Stories<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\tProPublica has found multiple cases of women with underlying health conditions who died when they couldn\u2019t access abortions. Tierra Walker, a 37-year-old mother, was told by doctors there was no emergency before preeclampsia killed her.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n![\"Walker\u2019s](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251004_Parra-Abortion-Deaths-Chronic-Conditions_05.jpg\")
Walker\u2019s mother, Pamela Walker, holds her daughter\u2019s ashes. Credit: ProPublica \/ Lexi Parra<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251005_Parra-Abortion-Deaths-Chronic-Conditions_36.jpg\")
A wedding photo of Tierra La\u2019Nesa Walker and her husband Eric Carson sits on the bed in their home, Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025, in San Antonio. Credit: ProPublica \/ Lexi Parra<\/p>\n![\"Javohn](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251004_Parra-Abortion-Deaths-Chronic-Conditions_21.jpg\")
Javohn , \u201cJJ,\u201d Tierra\u2019s son, poses for a portrait in his room at his aunt\u2019s property. Credit: ProPublica \/ Lexi Parra<\/p>\n![\"Walker\u2019s](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251005_Parra-Abortion-Deaths-Chronic-Conditions_105.jpg\")
Walker\u2019s aunt, Latanya Walker, tried to advocate for her niece during her hospitalizations. Credit: ProPublica \/ Lexi Parra<\/p>\n![\"Carson](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251005_Parra-Abortion-Deaths-Chronic-Conditions_41.jpg\")
Carson sits in the bedroom he shared with Walker. Credit: ProPublica \/ Lexi Parra<\/p>\n![\"JJ](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251005_Parra-Abortion-Deaths-Chronic-Conditions_85.jpg\")
JJ, Tierra\u2019s son, is prayed over at Freedom Culture church, Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025, in San Antonio. Tierra La\u2019Nesa Walker was known as the \u2018gospel diva\u2019 growing up. She loved singing and dancing in the church. Credit: ProPublica \/ Lexi Parra<\/p>\n![\"Pamela](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251005_Parra-Abortion-Deaths-Chronic-Conditions_112.jpg\")
Pamela Walker poses for a portrait with her sister, LaTanya Walker on a field in San Antonio. Credit: ProPublica \/ Lexi Parra<\/p>\n
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