Porn a public health crisis? Utah state senator thinks so
Is pornography causing a public health crisis in Utah? State Senator Todd Weiler thinks it is.
The Republican lawmaker introduced a resolution Friday that “recognizes the need for education, prevention, research, and policy change at the community and societal level in order to address the pornography epidemic that is harming the citizens of Utah and the nation.”
Utah has one of the nation’s highest rates of porn use, according to a 2009 Harvard Business School study.
“I’m being mocked by the media about this but it is affecting people’s lives and families,” Weiler told FOX411. “This is not a Mormon thing, a Utah thing. This is not a conservative thing. It’s based on science. Not all scientists will agree on this, but scientists don’t agree on everything.”
The divorce lawyer turned politician said he’s not trying to impose morals on anyone but simply making people aware of porn’s perils.
“Like in the 1950s, people said tobacco wasn’t addictive and now we know it is. I think that porn is similar to tobacco back in the 50s,” he said. “Porn is being found to be addictive and damaging.”
“The resolution is a warning telling us to be careful. I’ve been a divorce attorney for 20 years and it contributes to a lot of divorces in Utah,” Sen. Weiler cautioned. “It undermines relationships and families. I’m not trying to ban pornography. I know it’s not illegal. Not everyone who looks at pornography is going to get addicted, but a lot of people don’t realize it can have that impact.”
Jeremy Boberg, sexual addiction specialist and founder of Utah Addiction Centers, agrees that pornography addiction is a big problem in his state.
“Eighty-five to 90 percent of my clients that come in annually have a sexual addiction or compulsion. For the first time in the human race, you can make love to your computer, smartphone, or tablet anytime, anywhere, and the human brain was not designed for this,” he said. “It’s cocaine on steroids. It’s touch deprivation, so you don’t need to go to your spouse or your significant other for that connection, which is paramount to cultivating relationships.”
But not everyone agrees that pornography is harmful, and some even argue it can help relationships..
“The idea that adult entertainment is inherently harmful and is the cause of marital demise is not supported by research. In fact, many couples find pornography to aid in enhancing marital excitement,” psychologist Dr. Chloe Carmichael told FOX411. “Some people might feel that pornography is misaligned with their own personal values or not appropriate within their own marriage; but to say it is harmful to all citizens and inherently harmful to the institution of marriage is simply inaccurate.”
Carmichael said for some “pornography is a healthy outlet for many people, and provides a safe way for them to explore new ideas in the context of a couple or a solo experience.”
And as far as marital issues are concerned, divorce attorney Joe Cordell of Cordell & Cordell told FOX411 that porn viewing accounts for 10 percent of his firm’s clients’ marriages ending, and is primarily “the straw that breaks the marriage’s back.”
Cordell said it is more common that “spouses are being unfaithful through memberships on dating websites and/or using social media to exchange sexual images and messages in divorce cases than pornography.”
