Pornography is now delivered to everyone virtually unhindered no matter what age through the internet. It is accessed on your computer, laptop, iPad, tablet, and mobile phone. Every age has equal access all the time. It can be done in a matter of seconds.
Accessible pornography has created a public health and a mental health crisis as well as a moral and spiritual health crisis.
Due to advances in technology and the universal availability of the internet, young children are frequently exposed to what used to be referred to as hardcore, but is now considered mainstream, pornography.
Although studies vary their numbers, they are all pretty shocking. One study I saw said 39% of all internet activity is pornographic. Every second 30,000 people are viewing pornography. Every day, 25% of all internet searches are pornography related.
The National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) tells us of a study of university students that found that 93% of men (almost total saturation) and 62% of women had seen internet pornography during adolescence. Half saw pornography for the first time before age 13. 49% of minor teens “come across” pornography at least once a month while 37% of minor teens intentionally seek out porn once a month.
Pornography perpetuates a sexually toxic environment. Anyone who doesn’t think we have a sexually toxic environment has their head in the sand. Our regular exposure to it desensitizes us to it. So we do not recognize its dangers, especially for children and young people.
The research by NCOSE shows that pornography ravages the home. It damages children, kills marriages, and introduces struggles and addictions families must deal with.
Pornography is contributing to the hyper-sexualization of teens, and even prepubescent children, in our society.
Exposure to pornography leads to low self-esteem and body image disorders, an increase in sexual activity at younger ages, and a greater likelihood of engaging in risky sexual behavior such as sending sexually explicit images, hookups, multiple sex partners, group sex, and using substances during sex as adolescents.
Exposure to pornography shapes the sexual templates for youth. Because it treats women as objects and commodities for the viewer’s use, it teaches girls they are to be used and boys to be users.
Pornography often depicts rape and abuse as if they are harmless. It also fosters more hostile sexist attitudes of men towards women, increased acceptance of rape myths, greater likelihood of sexual harassment or sexually coercive and forceful behavior by adolescents, increased male sexual aggression against women by those men who are frequent consumers of pornography or who use violent pornography, and increased verbal and physical aggression among both male and female consumers of pornography.
Potential detrimental effects on pornography’s users can impact brain development and functioning, contribute to emotional and medical illnesses, shape deviant sexual arousal (i.e., animal and/or child pornography use), and promote problematic or harmful sexual behaviors such as child-on-child sexual behaviors that occur in schools, playgrounds, homes or other settings.
Research also indicates that pornography is potentially biologically addictive, which means the user requires more novelty and intensity, often in the form of more shocking material, in order to be satisfied.
This biological addiction leads to increasing use of pornography featuring themes of risky sexual behaviors, extreme degradation, violence, and child sexual abuse images (i.e., child pornography).
Pornography use is linked to difficulty in forming or maintaining intimate relationships, lessening desire in young men to marry, dissatisfaction in marriage, and infidelity, demonstrating that pornography has a detrimental and destructive effect on the family unit.
The family is under assault today due to many causes and this is one of them that government can and should address. Government should be protecting the family.
24 states have passed age verification laws, which require a user to verify they are 18 or over to enter a pornographic website. Last year the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Texas’ age verification law saying that historically sexually explicit material harmful to minors has had no free speech protection. The justices noted that the law has always limited kids’ access to freedoms open to adults, say in matters such as marriage and voting, etc. With this, the court has preserved lawmakers’ rights to shield children from pornography including the use of age verification as an ordinary and appropriate enforcement tool.
The Iowa Senate has an age verification bill that updates our current laws regarding a minor’s access to pornography to reflect current technology. It requires a company on the internet that distributes pornography to use an age verification system (18 and older) in order to access the pornography. Enforcement is through civil action.
Will this bill protect our youth entirely? Of course not, much more needs to be done, and even if everything was done, it cannot be eliminated entirely. But we should absolutely put some barriers in the way.
Pornography is an equal opportunity destroyer. It’s high time we get this bill passed to help protect our kids.
Bills Passed the Senate
Liability for Sidewalk Maintenance-SF 2146: Allows a city to assign sidewalk maintenance liability to the property owner the sidewalk is on. Therefore, cities cannot issue fines against property owners for failure to maintain or clear their sidewalks, but they may assess an amount to reflect the material costs, direct labor costs and a small administrative fee due to the city having to maintain and clear the sidewalk. This is designed to limit the excessive amounts some cities have been charging to maintain and clear sidewalks.
Cremated Remains-HF 2349: If the person who should receive a someone’s cremated human remains does not claim the remains within 30 days, the next competent adult shall be contacted to receive them.
Physician Licensure Reforms-SF 2184: Cuts through red tape for licensing and renewal for physicians
Your Life Iowa-SF 2319: Schools for students grades 7-12 are required to publish information on Your Life Iowa on the school’s website as a mental health resource.
County Residential Zoning-SF 2442: Prohibits counties from restricting the construction or development of homes other than for safety of life or property. Allows landowners to subdivide their own property. Addresses the issue of some counties denying landowners the ability to construct homes on their own land. Intended to cut red tape and make it easier to build homes.
Peer-to-Peer Car Sharing-SF 2290: Provides liability, insurance, and other regulations for those who want to rent out their own personal vehicle.
Civics Seal-HF 2231: The Dept. of Education will develop a seal of civics excellence to place on the diploma of students graduating from high school who have demonstrated proficiency in civics.
Common Course Numbers-HF 2610: Implements a common course number system between community colleges and state universities for ease of transfer for students between schools.
Child Abuse Interviews-SF 2416: Allows a child protection worker or a police officer to conduct an interview with a child in a suspected child abuse case either in the home or a child protection center. Intended to allow for a setting less intimidating to the child.
Hospital and Insurance Reforms-HF 2635: Regulates the use of artificial intelligence within the prior authorization process. Requires a peer with the same or similar specialty as the health care provider involved to review the prior authorization request. Specifies certain timelines that must be met by the insurance company. Cancer-related screenings cannot be denied by the insurance company if they are recommended by the doctor based on oncology practice guidelines. Prohibits an insurance company from requiring prior authorization for treatment or diagnosis of a health condition that is discovered while in the hospital and it is a life-threatening condition. Prohibits an insurance company from penalizing a doctor’s referral to an out-of-network health care provider and from interfering with or participating in a doctor’s decision regarding staffing and referrals, unless permitted by law. Removes the certificate of need process from all service expansion, including new or replacement equipment, and air transportation. The certificate of need will continue to apply to new or relocated hospitals, capital expenditures, a permanent change in bed capacity, and mobile health services in excess of $4 million. More details apply.
Drones and Eluding-SF 2283: Under current law, law enforcement is prohibited from using drones to enforce traffic law. This bill allows for the use of drones by law enforcement only to assist in apprehending a driver who is eluding law enforcement in a chase.
Technology Impact-SF 2335: The Dept. of Ed. Is directed to conduct a study on the impact of technology on the academic performance of students.
