ABC News “Nightline” will feature a story on the recent debate that’s resurfaced in the adult entertainment industry whether condoms should be mandatory for male performers. In 2004, adult performer Darren James contracted HIV, shutting the industry down for a month. Four performers, including James, were found to have been infected. In the interim, studios have adopted a strict testing regimen, adopting an industry standard 30 day test cycle. All performers are now required to present proof they are disease free prior to being allowed to work.

Renewing this debate is the revelation that a single performer tested positive for HIV at the Adult Industry Medical Health Care Foundation, or AIM, a clinic set up by the adult industry to serve performers, in June of 2009.  AIM Executive Director Sharon Mitchell believes that the latest patient zero contracted HIV outside of the industry but within the 30-day testing period.

You might be surprised to learn that condoms aren’t mandatory for performers. You might also wonder what kind of god-awful petri dish of gruesome sex-death adult performers junk must look like. According to Mitchell, however, she observes a lower incidence rate of STDs among adult performers than is found in the general population. In other words, if you get a chance to fuck a porn star, knock yourself out. They’re probably cleaner than that drunken hook-up after the company St. Patrick’s Day party.

Again you might be asking yourself why this is even a debate. Aren’t we always preaching safe sex? Why isn’t safe sex in the adult entertainment industry a no-brainer? Look at you. Aren’t you adorable? The answer is, of course: money. Steve Hirsch, CEO of Vivid Entertainment, pulls a big fat brown cigar out of his mouth long enough to explain. “The truth is that when people watch adult movies, they’re watching for the fantasy, and they don’t want to see condoms,” said Hirsch. “It’s been proven over and over and over. Condoms in adult movies just don’t sell well. That’s just a fact.”

While on the surface it seems that Steve and his ilk are encouraging their employees to risk their lives for a buck, and the performers are playing with fire (cause, from what I hear chlamydia burns), not to mention their lives, let’s take a look at some numbers, shall we?

According to Mr. Hirsch, it’s all about perspective, man. “We produce as an industry about 10,000 movies a year,” said Hirsch. “Each movie has about five sex scenes, so that’s 50,000 scenes a year. Multiply it by five years and we’re talking about 250,000 scenes have been shot since 2004, and one person has tested positive. I like our track record.” You know who else had a good track record? This guy. I’m just sayin’.

While I can appreciate the need for safety in the workplace, let’s face it, the industry is inherently risky. The object in professional boxing is to inflict brain damage on your opponent, yet I don’t see anyone rushing to require fighters to wear helmets to reduce risk. I know it’s a tenuous analogy, and that performers in the adult business assume that their partner is disease free. On the other hand, when a tight-rope walker insists on working without a net, and one plunges to his death, no one stands around aghast wondering how the hell that could have happened??

Should sex industry performers be required by law to wear a condom? I don’t think so. The industry appears to be going to great lengths to police itself. The fact of the matter is, as a performer, the choice is yours. Listening to the porn star lament about not being able to find work because they insist on using a condom is a little like listening to a sword swallower complain he can’t get a gig because he uses a plastic sword. Maybe you should look into a new line of work.

For the rest of us who’s job isn’t to fuck for work, the rules still apply. If you’re not monogamous, for fuck sake, use a condom. Remember. Chlamydia burns, and AIDS kills.

“Nightline” airs their report tonight at 11:35 ET on ABC.