2026-09-16 16:17:18 / 路透社
9月16日电（路透社）——一名因妊娠相关病症去世的得州女子的家人已起诉该州共和党总检察长肯·帕克斯顿以及为其治疗的医生，称堕胎本可挽救她的生命，而该州近乎全面的堕胎禁令违反宪法。
蒂埃拉·沃克的家人周二在圣安东尼奥州法院提起诉讼，指控她的医生拒绝了她的堕胎请求，尽管当时她正处于符合得州严格堕胎法律例外条款的医疗紧急状态中。
订阅《每日案卷》新闻简报，将最新法律资讯直接发送至您的收件箱，开启您的晨间资讯之旅。点击此处注册
诉讼书显示，现年37岁、怀孕20周的沃克于2024年12月去世，距离她最后一次因先兆子痫症状前往医院就诊仅两天。先兆子痫是一种可能致命的妊娠并发症，症状为高血压。
根据梅奥诊所的信息，重度先兆子痫的治疗通常需要立即分娩。诉讼书称，沃克符合得州法律规定的紧急堕胎条件，但诉状显示，她非但没有接受堕胎手术，反而被反复告知病情会好转，并被送回家中。
诉讼书指出，帕克斯顿和其他州官员“实施了无情的全面堕胎禁令，恐吓医生无所作为，并在得州医疗界引发了极度恐慌”。
除帕克斯顿外，诉讼的被告还包括得州医学委员会——该机构负责监管该州医疗执业并向医疗专业人员发布指导意见——圣安东尼奥得克萨斯大学健康科学中心，以及多名为沃克治疗的医生。
该院发言人拒绝置评。帕克斯顿的办公室和得州医学委员会周三未立即回应置评请求。
另据报道，周三，两名俄克拉荷马州女子提起诉讼，称她们在得知胎儿无法存活后，被迫前往其他州进行堕胎。她们联合两名医生和一个堕胎权利组织，指控强迫妇女保留无法存活的妊娠违反了她们的宪法权利。
2021年通过的两项得州法律禁止实施或诱导堕胎，仅为危及生命的医疗紧急情况保留例外条款，并且禁止在胎儿可检测到心脏活动时为孕妇提供堕胎服务。得州堕胎禁令的一项新颖条款还允许私人公民代表州政府起诉堕胎服务提供者。
这些法律于2022年生效，此前美国最高法院推翻了具有里程碑意义的“罗伊诉韦德案”裁决，该裁决曾确立了堕胎的宪法权利。
沃克家人提起的诉讼声称，被告违反了沃克受美国宪法保护的生命权，以及一项要求医院无论患者支付能力如何都必须提供急诊护理的联邦法律。诉讼还进一步指控得州的堕胎禁令违反了州宪法。
丹尼尔·威斯纳 纽约奥尔巴尼报道
亚历克西亚·加拉姆法尔维、奥罗拉·埃利斯 编辑
Texas abortion ban caused pregnant woman’s death, lawsuit claims
2026-09-16 16:17:18 / Reuters
Sept 16 (Reuters) – The family of a Texas woman who died from a pregnancy-related condition has sued the state’s Republican attorney general, Ken Paxton, and doctors who treated her, claiming an abortion could have saved her life and the state’s near-total ban on the procedure is unconstitutional.
The lawsuit filed Tuesday in state court in San Antonio by the family of Tierra Walker claims her doctors refused her requests to perform an abortion even though she was having a medical emergency that qualified for an exception from Texas’ strict abortion laws.
Jumpstart your morning with the latest legal news delivered straight to your inbox from The Daily Docket newsletter. Sign up here.
Walker, who was 37 and 20 weeks pregnant, died in December 2024 two days after her final hospital visit for symptoms of preeclampsia, a potentially fatal complication of pregnancy marked by high blood pressure, according to the lawsuit.
The treatment for severe preeclampsia is often immediate delivery of the baby, according to the Mayo Clinic, and the lawsuit says Walker qualified for an emergency abortion under Texas law. But instead of receiving one, she was repeatedly told her condition would improve and sent home, according to the complaint.
The lawsuit says Paxton and other state officials “have imposed a merciless blanket prohibition on abortion that intimidates doctors into inaction and breeds extreme fear among Texas’ medical establishment.”
Along with Paxton, the lawsuit names as defendants the Texas Medical Board, which regulates the practice of medicine in the state and issues guidance to medical professionals, the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and several doctors who treated Walker.
A spokesperson for the hospital declined to comment. Paxton’s office and the Texas Medical Board did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday.
Separately, on Wednesday, two Oklahoma women filed a lawsuit claiming they were forced to travel to other states to have abortions after learning their babies would not survive pregnancy. Joined by two doctors and an abortion rights group, they claim that forcing women to keep nonviable pregnancies violates their constitutional rights.
A pair of 2021 Texas laws prohibit performing or inducing an abortion, with an exception for life-threatening medical emergencies, and bar providers from performing abortions if a fetus has detectable cardiac activity. A novel provision of Texas’ abortion ban also allows private citizens to sue providers on behalf of the state.
The laws took effect in 2022 after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned its landmark Roe v. Wade decision that had established a constitutional right to have an abortion.
The lawsuit filed by Walker’s family claims the defendants violated Walker’s right to life under the U.S. Constitution and a federal law requiring hospitals to provide emergency care regardless of a patient’s ability to pay. It further alleges that Texas’ abortion bans violate the state constitution.
Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Aurora Ellis
发表回复