Thursday, Nov 5, 2009    Text size: 

A news story previewing tonight’s broadcast is posted on posted on ABC.com. The debate, at least in the eyes of the mainstream press, received renewed interest when an unidentified performer contracted HIV in June.

Patient Zero is believed to have been infected outside the industry and did not pass the virus along, according to AIM Healthcare.

However, there is still a vocal minority that is demanding that male performers use condoms while filming adult movies.

“Nightline” begins the piece by interviewing Darren James, the performer who contracted HIV in 2004, which shut down adult film production for a month while performers were quarantined. James believes condom use should be mandatory.

AIM Healthcare Executive Director Sharon Mitchell told “Nightline that she believes industry testing procedures are adequate and that AIM’s role is solely that of a testing facility, not a watchdog.

"We're not the condom police and we're not the set police," Mitchell said. "We do make it possible for everyone to exchange clean bills of health."

Mitchell stands by AIM’s effectiveness given that one HIV positive performer didn’t turn into an outbreak. Through its role at the “go-to” testing facility for adult talent, AIM was quickly able to identify and contact the performers who worked with Patient Zero and get them to re-test.

"The Patient Zero only had one prior test, it wasn't like this performer had been working for six months and had, you know, a whole history of testing, and so we were really able to take a good look at the people that this performer had worked with."

Also discussed are the reasons why almost all adult companies don’t require condom use. It’s widely upheld that adult films with condoms just don’t sell. Requiring condom use would push the industry underground, many industry members suspect.

"The truth is that when people watch adult movies, they're watching for the fantasy, and they don't want to see condoms," Vivid Entertainment co-chairman Steve Hirsch told “Nightline.” "It's been proven over and over and over. Condoms in adult movies just don't sell well. That's just a fact."

Also interviewed in the piece is Vivid production manager Shylar Cobi, Vivid Girl Nikki Jayne and AIDS Healthcare Foundation President Michael Weinstein.