An Ohio Senate bill could prohibit collecting any bodily substance in the state.
Senate Bill 58 states that anyone found collecting urine or other bodily substances without privilege could face a fine and even jail time.
The bill excludes health care workers and police from obtaining blood, urine or other tissue samples and individuals collecting their own bodily substances.
Senator Jim Hughes (R-16) introduced the bill after police say they discovered a convicted sex offender named Alan Patton collecting urine from young boys in public restrooms at the Ohio Fair Grounds in Columbus, said Andy Bowsher, a legislative aid in the senator's office.
He turned off the water in the restrooms and raided the toilets of the boys' urine because he believed their urine was the fountain of youth
Bowsher said.
If the bill passes, police officers could then arrest Patton if he collects any more bodily substances.
He added that there are similar cases involving people collecting children's bodily substances around the state.
This isn't the first time something like this has happened he said. The senator is working hard to prevent things like this from hurting any more children or their families.
Locally no one has reported any similar behavior in public bathrooms in the city
said Athens Police Department Captain Tom Pyle.
I've never heard of anything about that around here, but it seems to me that Ohio shouldn't need a law to protect children from people trying to collect their urine, he said.
Drinking blood or urine is potentially harmful
said Tarig Higazi
assistant professor of biological sciences at Ohio University-Zanesville.
Urine is excreted from the body so it's not useful and toxic, he said
adding that urine and any other excretion like sweat and feces can carry diseases and infections that could spread from one individual to another if ingested.
Higazi said consuming blood could be harmful to the body.
Although blood has lots of nutrients, the body can make use of it only if it's in the bloodstream, he said.
Blood could also carry numerous diseases and infections that could very easily make someone sick
he said.
If someone is caught collecting someone else's bodily fluids
the offense is a first-degree misdemeanor
which could mean up to 180 days in jail and a $1
000 fine
