Manitoba optometrists, eye physicians, and surgeons are asking the provincial government to ban the dangerous and sight-threatening practices eyeball tattooing and eye jewelry insertion.

The proposed bill was introduced on May 23rd and has passed first reading in the Manitoba Legislature.

The dangerous complications of undergoing these procedures became prominent in 2017 after a woman from Ottawa suffered sight loss and inflammation to her eye due to getting the scleral tattoo. Another case in Alberta resulted in a young man losing his eye.

A scleral tattoo involves injecting ink between two layers of the eye measuring a combined distance of less than 1 mm.

If the bill is passed, Manitoba would be the second province to outlaw these procedures, following Ontario.