Although freedom of speech and freedom of expression suggest that Maine has no right to tell its residents what they can display on their bodies and where, Augusta must protect the health of everyone, including those people who opt to pierce odd parts of their bodies and fill the holes with jewelry.

For that reason, the Legislature should pass LD 481, a bill that would permit the Department of Human Services to regulate body piercing in Maine. Sponsored by Rep. George Kerr of Old Orchard Beach, this bill would require annual inspections of tattoo parlors and other businesses specializing in body piercing and would authorize DHS to establish health guidelines that do not currently exist.

Medical problems caused by unsterilized instruments can range from relatively minor blood poisoning to such systemic infections as hepatitis and AIDS. Most body piercing professionals apparently practice “safe” medicine, using appropriate safeguards like sterilized equipment and sterile gloves to avoid the risk of infection and disease transmission.

Unfortunately, according to Rep. Kerr, some young people eschew the professionals, preferring instead to have their friends do the piercing. Untrained and ill-equipped, these so-called “friends” seriously risk harming whomever they pierce.

As body piercing gains adherents, parents are beginning to complain to their legislators. Parental objections may rise from distaste for body piercing or concern for a child’s well-being. Ironically, in some states, including Maine, parents must authorize ear-piercing for their children, but not piercing done elsewhere on a child’s body.

While some state legislatures have discussed regulating body piercing, few have passed the appropriate laws; by enacting LD 481, the Legislature will make Maine among the first states to do so. The law will not prevent the ill-informed or anatomically curious from finding a back-alley body piercer, but if DHS forces one unsanitary “professional” to clean up its act, then a disease may not be spread, and a life might be saved.