In Persampieri, 343 Mass. at 22, ( https://casetext.com/case/persampieri-v-commonwealth#! ) the defendant told his wife that he intended to divorce her. She threatened to commit suicide. Id. The defendant, knowing that the victim had already attempted suicide twice, said she was "chicken -- and wouldn't do it." Id. When she retrieved a .22 caliber rifle, he helped her to load it and handed it to her, noting that the safety was off. Id. With the gun barrel on the floor, the victim struggled to pull the trigger. Id. at 23. The defendant told her that if she took off her shoe she could reach the trigger, at which point she successfully shot and killed herself. Id. We concluded that the jury were warranted in returning a verdict of involuntary manslaughter based on the theory of wanton or reckless conduct, id., noting that the defendant, "instead of trying to bring [the victim] to her senses, taunted her, told her where the gun was, loaded it for her, saw that the safety was off, and told her the means by which she could pull the trigger.
We can agree he handled this situation wrong, but can we also agree what she was doing is emotional terrorism and wrong?
Threatening suicide if a person divorces you should be a crime in my opinion. What option does a person have if their partner is constantly using suicide threats as coercion?
Threatening suicide doesn't fall into an unprotected category of speech (though feminist would have us think otherwise), unless say you have certain things strapped to a vest in which case they'd certainly be an imminent threat to themselves and/or others. If they happened demonstrate more than just a suicidal threat, a person may petition the courts to initiate civil commitment procedures. If the court finds they meet the criteria for that particular state then it is off to the funny farm they go.