Dennis RomeroThe porn industry's L.A.-based trade group announced that production could resume today following an HIV scare that triggered a voluntary moratorium.
See also: Porn Industry to Shut Down After Star Turns up HIV+.
The Free Speech Coalition said in a statement today that only one performer has turned up positive and that all the folks he had sexual contact with after that have tested negative:
FSC said that performers could get back to work as long as they have a clean test from Dec. 5 or after, a time frame representing at least 14 days from the date (Nov. 21) the positive performer last had sexual contact with someone.
States the organization:
PASS doctors have since tested and retested that performer's first generation contacts in the performer pool, on-set and off. None generated a positive test for HIV.
The performer's gender was not revealed by the FSC but industry reports say the person is a male star.
Diane Duke, head of the group, says:
While we understand that a moratorium is difficult for both performers and producers, it's important that we're cautious when dealing with HIV. For nearly a decade, the combination of moratoriums and testing have been successful at preventing HIV transmission in the adult workplace. However, we must be always vigilant, and work to improve that record.
The moratorium comes after two others, one in August and one in September, followed reports of HIV-positive tests among performers.
Credit: Keith Plocek for LA Weekly
See also: Porn Biz Shut Down Again Over Yet Another HIV Case.
The L.A.-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation has used these occasions to chastise the business for failing to adhere to county law that essentially mandates condom use on set.
The industry argues that consumers don't want to see condom porn and that its twice-a-month performer testing works in cases like this — triggering a halt in production until any possible STD spread is isolated.
“Moratoriums are one of the most effective tools we have to protect adult performers,” Duke said.
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