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Committee advances bill to criminalize coercion in suicides after family testimony
Summary
After testimony from the family of a deceased woman, the subcommittee approved an amendment and forwarded HB 19-51 to full judiciary; sponsors said the measure is narrowly drawn to hold predators who deliberately coerce suicide accountable.
House Bill 19-51, revised to focus on coercive suicide after an amendment removed AI-related language, was advanced by the subcommittee and will go to full judiciary.
The sponsor described the measure as a targeted change to assisted-suicide law that "adds coercive suicide statute to our code" and said the revision was drafted with the attorney general's office to avoid First Amendment conflicts.
Two family members testified in support. Candy Sparks identified herself as Grace Ann Sparks's mother and urged passage, saying her daughter's death "was not. It was engineered." Her testimony urged the committee to provide prosecutors a clear statute to charge people who use sustained psychological pressure or manipulation to cause suicide.
Grace Ann's sister, Hannah Duncan, reinforced that coercion can be quiet and persistent, saying the bill "matters because it names this reality" and is intended not to criminalize mental illness but to hold exploiters accountable.
Representative Powell expressed that the testimony was moving and supported moving the bill forward. The subcommittee voted to send HB 19-51 as amended to full judiciary; the clerk recorded 8 ayes and 0 noes.
Next step: HB 19-51 will be considered by the full judiciary committee for further debate.
