LATE LAST MONTH, and with little fanfare other than a brief mention in a press release, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a law making it a $250 fine to pierce the body of someone under the age of 18 without parental or guardian consent. It was a law which had expired the previous January; Schwarzenegger’s action put it back on the books and made it permanent.

What does this little-noticed law have to with California’s special election? Supporters of Proposition 73, the first of the eight initiatives on the Nov. 8 ballot, use it as a metaphor for the inconsistencies of California’s approach to abortion. In the Golden State, a minor needs parental permission for matters as mundane as receiving an aspirin from the school nurse. Yet, abortion services are legally available without parental involvement–neither notification nor consent.