訴訟稱德州墮胎禁令導致孕婦死亡

丹尼爾・維斯納（Daniel Wiessner）報導By Daniel Wiessner

9月16日（路透）——一名德州女子死於妊娠相關疾病後，她的家屬對該州共和黨籍檢察長肯・帕克斯頓（Ken Paxton）以及曾治療她的醫師提起訴訟，主張墮胎原本可能挽救她的生命，而該州對這項醫療程序幾乎全面禁止的規定違憲。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.

蒂耶拉・沃克（Tierra Walker）的家屬週二在聖安東尼奧州法院提起訴訟，指稱即使沃克當時出現醫療緊急狀況，符合德州嚴格墮胎法的例外條件，她的醫師仍拒絕她提出施行墮胎的要求。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.

訴狀指出，沃克當時37歲、懷孕20週，2024年12月因子癇前症症狀最後一次就醫後兩天死亡。子癇前症是妊娠期間可能致命的併發症，特徵是高血壓。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.

梅約診所（Mayo Clinic）指出，嚴重子癇前症的治療方式通常是立即分娩；訴狀則稱，依德州法律，沃克符合緊急墮胎資格。但根據訴狀，她並未接受墮胎，而是一再被告知病情會好轉，隨後被送回家。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.

訴狀稱，帕克斯頓與其他州政府官員「強加一項殘酷的全面墮胎禁令，恐嚇醫師不敢行動，並在德州醫療體系中滋生極端恐懼」。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."

除帕克斯頓外，這起訴訟也將德州醫學委員會（Texas Medical Board）、德州大學聖安東尼奧健康科學中心（University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio）以及數名曾治療沃克的醫師列為被告。德州醫學委員會負責監管該州醫療執業並向醫療專業人員發布指引。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.

該醫院發言人拒絕回應。帕克斯頓辦公室與德州醫學委員會週三未立即回應媒體詢問。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.

另外，兩名奧克拉荷馬州女子週三提起訴訟，主張她們在得知胎兒無法在妊娠中存活後，被迫前往其他州墮胎。兩名醫師與一個墮胎權組織也加入這起訴訟；她們主張，強迫女性維持無法存活的妊娠，侵犯其憲法權利。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.

德州2021年通過的兩項法律禁止施行或誘導墮胎，但對危及生命的醫療緊急狀況設有例外；這些法律也禁止醫療服務提供者在胎兒可偵測到心臟活動時施行墮胎。德州墮胎禁令的一項新穎條款，也允許私人公民代表州政府起訴醫療服務提供者。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.

這些法律於2022年生效；此前，美國最高法院推翻具有指標意義的「羅訴韋德案」判決，該判決曾確立墮胎的憲法權利。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.

沃克家屬提起的訴訟主張，被告侵犯沃克依美國憲法享有的生命權，也違反一項要求醫院無論病患支付能力如何均須提供急診照護的聯邦法律。訴訟並進一步主張，德州的墮胎禁令違反該州憲法。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.

（丹尼爾・維斯納紐約州奧爾巴尼報導；Alexia Garamfalvi與Aurora Ellis編輯）(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Aurora Ellis)