You hear about kids getting tattoos on their own, but a Georgia couple in Chattooga County decided to do it themselves.
They tattooed six of their their own children, ages 7 to 17, and not even with professional instruments. Instead, they used a plastic pen, guitar string, and an electric motor. The parents claimed they didn’t do anything wrong, claiming the tattoo will fade because they didn’t break any skin.
Your initial reaction might be: “Of course they shouldn’t be allowed to do that.” But Margaret Ryznar at the Family Law Prof Blog counters that parents are allowed to make medical decisions for their kids all the time:
How is different from piercing a baby’s ears, other than the permanency of having a “mom and dad” tattoo on your arm?
I don’t think the permanency is the issue–rather, it’s that using primitive instruments to tattoo children is unsafe. The kids can’t say “no” to the use of unsafe instruments, so we need the law to protect them. Piercing a baby’s ears in an unsafe manner should be similarly illegal.
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