June 21, 2011 | The Biz

Court won't force health officials to police porn biz

An appeals court ruled against the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) this week, saying that Los Angeles County public health officials -- and not the court -- can determine best how to deal with STIs on porn sets. This means that if health officials don't want to push condom use, they don't have to.

AHF has been fighting to make condoms mandatory on porn shoots, and claimed the industry was rife with the spread of sexually transmitted diseases among performers, from HIV and gonorrhea to syphilis and genital herpes.

The group sued the county for failing to be more active in policing the industry. It cited several county regulations concerning the obligations of health officials to take “all measures reasonably necessary to prevent the transmission of infection.” The lower court didn't agree, saying health officials had the right to determine, at their own discretion, how best to handle any cases they investigated. AHF appealed, but lost.

The court found that the county Health Department has “discretion to choose among various measures, ranging from quarantine and isolation to physician referrals and testing in carrying out [its] duty.” 

“While it is unfortunate that the court found the Department of Public Health’s statutory duty to investigate and respond to outbreaks of sexually transmitted diseases in the adult film industry did not rise to the level warranting a writ of mandate, AIDS Healthcare Foundation will continue to pursue all available means to protect adult film workers in the industry," AHF spokesman Ged Kenslea said.

L.A. Health Officials Can't Be Forced to Regulate Porn Shoots, Court Rules [XBiz]