In June 2022, a stranger strangled Erika Rothenberger unconscious in a Blue Bell, PA, parking lot. On Oct. 28, Pennsylvania State Representative Donna Scheuren introduced Erika’s Law, three bills (House Bills 2517, 2518, and 2519) now before the House Judiciary Committee. HB 2517 would make stranger strangulation a felony, as opposed to the misdemeanor that it currently is. After emergency medical care is performed, and as soon as practicably possible, HB 2519 would require police to warn victims of delayed outcomes, as the bill states, “Health consequences may develop or become apparent after the incident and may include internal bleeding, brain injury, thyroid damage, miscarriage, stroke or death. of delayed brain injury and stroke.”

The warnings embedded in Erika’s Law matter. Pressure on the neck cuts off oxygen-rich blood to the brain. Roughly 11 pounds of pressure on the carotid arteries can cause unconsciousness in about 10 seconds, and brain damage within minutes. (According to the Mayo Clinic, “Carotid arteries are a pair of major blood vessels located on each side of your neck that supply oxygen-rich blood to your brain, face, and head.”)

Survivors of strangulation can have a brain injury, and other side effects that are often associated with brain damage like depression and memory loss. In a 2024 emergency medicine study, 49% of patients with brain-oxygen-loss symptoms followed by amnesia couldn’t recall losing consciousness.