On Tuesday, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) rejected a request from the porn industry to block a Texas age-verification rule, allowing the law to stand and momentarily keeping in place the new safety measure. In an unsigned order without comment, the SCOTUS denied the request from the Free Speech Coalition, a group of pornography creators and producers, to issue a stay on the law.
The measure was passed last summer by the Texas Legislature and requires porn websites to institute “reasonable age-verification methods” to prevent minors from accessing explicit sexual content on their sites. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has already sued several pornography companies: “(They) are on the run because Texas has a law that aims to prevent them from showing harmful, obscene material to children.” So far, Pornhub, one of the world’s most visited porn websites, has ceased to offer its website in Texas rather than comply with its age-verification laws.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church condemns pornography because it “perverts the conjugal act” and “does grave injury to the dignity of its participants”, calling for civil authorities to prevent its production and distribution.
To read the full Catholic News Agency story, click here.