STATEHOUSE (Jan. 16, 2018) — A bill authored by State Sen. John Ruckelshaus (R-Indianapolis) banning scleral tattoos recently passed the Indiana Senate by a vote of 42-5.
Senate Bill 158 prohibits scleral tattooing unless it is being performed by a licensed health care professional and is within the professional’s scope of practice. Scleral tattooing is the practice of tattooing the white portion of the eye.
“There have been several cases across the country of these procedures going wrong and eyes being infected or even people losing their eyesight,” Ruckelshaus said. “Fortunately, there haven’t been any reported cases in Indiana, but in order to prevent this from happening in our state, lawmakers recognized we needed to be proactive to address this issue.”
The bill will now move to the House of Representatives for further consideration.
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