January 5, 2010 | The Biz

Mandatory condom use in porn?

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation has lost a bid to force porn studios to use condoms on set. The organization had sued Los Angeles County in July arguing that the L.A. County Department of Public Health had "passively observed an ever-growing epidemic" within the porn industry and done little to address it.

"Words alone cannot fight disease," the petition said. "For over a decade, county health officials have talked, watched, written and analyzed. What county health officials have not done is act."

However, last week a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge ruled that County health officials should maintain flexibility when addressing public health concerns.

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation sought action shortly after an adult-film actress tested positive for HIV. Further investigation revealed that 18 HIV cases and more than 3,700 cases of various other STIs (chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis) had been reported within the industry since 2004. (It is important to note that the HIV cases were discovered by screening adult performers and there is no indication that these cases resulted from sex on the set.)

An appeal on the court's decision is being planned. "We just hope the county will do the right thing without being compelled to do it by a court," foundation President Michael Weinstein said. "This is going to be a years-long battle and it's going to have its ups and downs, but we know in the end that public health is going to win."

Other foundation initiatives to fight the spread of HIV among video stars have included picketing outside Larry Flynt's Hustler store, a boycott of Marriott hotels where condom-free porn is available to guests, and the filing of several complaints with the Cal/OSHA against local production companies for allegedly violating workplace laws (by endangering the health and well being of employees).

Most recently the Healthcare Foundation convinced the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board to review current regulations - designed to protect workers from blood-borne pathogens and other bodily fluids, and normally enforced in a medical setting - to target activity in adult film production. It has been asked to consider demanding the use of condoms, which would prohibit local companies from creating bareback porn. A recommendation from the board to state officials is expected sometime early this year.

The Free Speech Coalition, an adult industry lobby group, opposes the move. “AHF's petition is part of its effort to mislead the public into believing that adult industry practices endanger the actors and models performing in the industry as well as the general public. Such a position is fundamentally false.

“There is no justification for requiring a modeling shoot or a film set to function at the same standards as an emergency room,” he said. “Football games, boxing and mixed martial arts matches are all entertainment where open wounds cause potential exchanges of blood not only between performers, but also the arena audiences."

Whatever the eventual outcome of this conflict, a ruling requiring condom use on porn shoots would likely result in an exodus of straight and gay bareback porn studios to other states.

Judge dismisses petition requiring the use of condoms in porn films [LA Times]

California AIDS Healthcare Foundation Petitions Cal/OSHA to Explicitly Require Condoms in Porn [San Diego Gay and Lesbian News]

L.A. Judge Rejects Mandatory Condoms on Porn Sets [XBiz]

FSC Blasts Move to Make Porn Shoots Condom-Only [XBiz]