Molly Hennessy-Fiske reports on the latest developments in a battle between the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) and the Adult Industry Medical (AIM) HealthCare Foundation, a Los Angeles area HIV testing clinic funded by and serving the adult film industry. The dispute pits privacy against public health concerns that unprotected sex in the adult porn industry could put more people at risk of AIDS.
The announcement this week that an adult film performer tested positive for HIV prompted a San Fernando Valley clinic Wednesday to blast AIDS activists and public health officials for using the incident to renew calls for mandatory condom use and added oversight of the porn industry.
“The misfortune of a patient testing positive for HIV has been turned into a tragic farce by the efforts of groups to exploit the patient for their political and financial gain,” the Sherman Oaks-based Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation said in a statement.
The clinic, known as AIM, noted in the statement that it is complying with all county, state and federal laws regarding both reporting the infection and protecting patient privacy.
“Under law, reporting to Los Angeles County HIV Epidemiology Program can only occur upon the return of a Western Blot test. That test was taken immediately upon the first indication of a potential infection, but the results take one week to return,” the statement said.
Last year, an Alameda County Superior Court judge issued an injunction barring a request by state workplace safety officials for the work history of a performer who had tested HIV positive at AIM.
Read more about this case on L.A. Now. Some of the previous coverage on this site can be found here and here.