Lawmakers in Arizona are considering declaring porn a public health crisis.
Earlier this week, Republican Rep. Michelle Udall introduced a bill that would declare pornography a “crisis leading to a broad spectrum of individual and public health impacts.”
The text of HCR2009 says porn “perpetuates a sexually toxic environment that damages all areas of our society.”
Some of the negative effects of porn that are listed in the bill include toxic sexual behaviors, difficulty forming or maintaining intimate relationships and emotional, mental and medical illnesses. It also says exposure to pornography is leading to low self-esteem and eating disorders in children.
“Recent research indicates that pornography is potentially biologically addictive and requires increasingly shocking material for the addiction to be satisfied,” the text reads. “Pornography is directly harming our nation’s youth by contributing to the hyper-sexualization of teens and even children.”
The bill is mostly symbolic and doesn’t have a legal effect. It calls for the state and the country to “systemically prevent exposure and addiction to pornography, educate individuals and families about its harms and develop pornography recovery programs.”
HCR2009 passed a health and human services committee on Thursday after it was introduced. The measure will now go to vote in the full Arizona House.
If passed, the bill would need to be approved by the Arizona Senate. It would not require the governor’s approval.
