Paris Hilton testifies in Maryland General Assembly Committee

Celebrity and advocate Paris Hilton appeared virtually to testify in support of a bill to protect kids from a trauma-inducing experience she had as a teen on Thursday.

HB497, also titled the Preventing Abduction in Youth Transport Act, would prohibit the practice of youth transport companies legally kidnapping and restraining kids to take them to troubled teen programs.

Hilton testified about her experience.

"When I was 16, I was ripped from my bed in the middle of the night by two large men I had never seen before," she told the House Judiciary Committee. "They gave me a choice, to go the easy way or the hard way. But there was no choice. They handcuffed me and carried me out of my room as I screamed for help. I was shoved into the backseat of a car and taken to an airport. I asked to speak to my parents. I asked what was happening and where I was going. They told me to shut up and grew agitated with each question."

Emily Block was another witness who spoke about her experience.

"I was removed from my bed at 16 years old, in the middle of the night, and brought to BWI airport and was shipped to Arizona, where I had countless, countless months of continual abuse," she told the committee, in a shaking voice.

Block, Hilton, and the other survivors who testified also described how their abduction experiences still impact their lives today.

Block was kidnapped at 3 in the morning, she testified and then didn't see her parents for 18 months.

"That night permanently changed my brain wiring," she said, holding back tears. "It permanently changed me in ways that I don't think will ever be fixed."

Sarah Stusek testified that she was kidnapped at 4 a.m.

"The trauma of that night has left permanent scars," she says. "I often wake up at 4 a.m., staring at my ceiling, unable to sleep."

Nightmares, insomnia, and PTSD were also among the lasting impacts that were included in the testimony.

Delegate Laren Arikan at one point thanked Stewart for the bill and the witnesses for testifying. She'd had a close friend that this happened to when she was in high school, she told them.

"He's no longer here today," she added.

For many of the delegates on the committee, this was a new topic and so questions and discussion went on for a while.

Disability Rights Maryland testified favorable with amendments to strengthen and broaden the bill as well.

Del. Stewart said that he wouldn't be the one to stand in the Committee's way if they wanted to broaden the bill to encompass more than just the transport companies to facilities specifically for troubled teens.

Hilton thanked Del. Stewart on social media for his leadership on the issue.

No one testified unfavorably at the Committee hearing.

For the bill to advance, it will need to get a favorable report from the Judiciary Committee before moving to the House floor.