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LOS ANGELES, November 9, 2012, (LifeSiteNews.com) – A referendum passed on Tuesday is drawing attention to the unhealthy conditions of the pornography industry—and how pornographers profit by placing young people at risk of diseases from syphilis to AIDS.

On November 6th, Los Angeles County voters passed a referendum requiring pornographers to wear condoms to cut an outbreak of disease.

Critics say porn producers, who make $14 billion a year, put money over safety by insisting that sex scenes with condoms don’t sell. 

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The industry threatened to move its studios, 90 percent of the which are located in the San Fernando Valley, elsewhere. 

Although porn’s defenders say the films are harmless adult entertainment, the statistics show the harm the industry causes to its actors.

A study cited by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the group behind the measure, found that 97 percent of pornographic films are made without condoms and cites some staggering STD statistics to garner support for the measure:

– Compared to the Los Angeles community at-large, performers are up to 64 times more at-risk for gonorrhea and 34 times for Chlamydia.

– The annual prevalence rate of gonorrhea and chlamydia in the adult industry is estimated to be more than seven times higher than in the general population of sexually active adults.

– Women in the adult industry are at the highest risk of infection. For instance, three quarters of all cases of gonorrhea and chlamydia were reported in women during a four year period.

Industry producers claim their self-regulatory, required monthly STD tests render the condom mandate unnecessary. The AIDS Healthcare Foundation counters with, “Testing is not prevention. It is an established medical fact that testing does not prevent transmission of disease.” 

The “Yes on B” campaign was bolstered by the support of past and present industry actors. 

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One male pornstar made headlines in 2010 when the industry temporarily shut down due to his contraction of HIV after a seven-month stint in the business.  Derrick Burts, originally known in the headlines as “Patient Zeta” claims he contracted the virus on set.

The industry halted productions again this August, when producers found out a male performer had been hiding positive syphilis test for weeks. The scare came in the midst of campaign season, bringing more attention to Measure B.

The newly passed measure will require industry titans to pay filming permits, which cost $11,000 for two years. The permit fees will finance regular inspections to ensure compliance with the new regulation.

Porn producers claimed the measure is unconstitutional. The Free Speech Coalition immediately announced plans to file a lawsuit to overturn the law on behalf of the “adult entertainment” industry.

Pornography production is only legal in California, New Hampshire and Nevada.  Nevada already has the condom mandate in place.

Patrick Trueman of Morality in Media told LifeSiteNews.com that the new ordinance only deals with the physical harms and ignores other lasting forms of damage. 

“While Measure B might provide a measure of protection for porn stars, it does nothing to protect the millions of consumers of porn,” said Trueman, Morality in Media’s president. “They suffer many consequences such as life-long addiction, broken marriages and relationships, broken dreams and destroyed lives.  Scientific research on the effects of pornography is now overwhelming and the inescapable conclusion is, porn harms!”