Utah is the first American state to call pornography for what it is: a “public health crisis.” But will other states follow suit, using the momentum to create a shift on the subject? Experts think so.

However, it’s impossible for such decisions not to be strongly opposed. Some medical practitioners, as well as activists for the LGBT community, see the move as a form of religious conservatism.

But Utah’s stance represents a breakthrough for researchers who have long said pornography is an industry that harms men, women, children, and human relationships.

After the Utah Senate and House of Representatives unanimously passed the resolution on Tuesday, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert (R) also signed it.

According to Gail Dines, a professor of sociology at Wheelock College in Boston, the Utah resolution is promising because “pornography is not defined as a moral issue, but as a harms-based issue.”

Meanwhile, people on both sides of the pornography debate put question marks on the scientific data presented by the other side. Dr. Dines is one of those who claim that more than 40 years of peer-reviewed research says it loud and clear: pornography is damaging.

She stated that using a public-health approach is justifiable in a society where “pornography is the major form of sex education, and hardcore pornography is now mainstream porn.”

For decades, feminists have tried raising public awareness of pornography’s contribution to the elevated levels of sexual violence against women. There is also a plethora of pediatricians, psychologists, and parents who talk about the negative effects, especially on children.

The Utah resolution looks at pornography through a long list of problems associated with it, such as sex trafficking, the abuse of women, family breakdown, and the fact that the average boy is first exposed to graphic material at the young age of 11.

On the other side of the debate, some members of the medical community argue that using the term addiction can be manipulative and fear-inducing.

According to David Ley, a clinical psychologist in Albuquerque, N.M., added that “by telling a teenager to be afraid of something and not do it, we are creating a situation where that teen is going to be compelled to be interested in it.”

However, Dr. Dines said that other states are already thinking of joining the trend and adopting Utah-like resolutions. Pornography in 2016 can be likened to smoking in the 1950s; people say it’s not harmful, but eventually, research trumps all, and scientific reason wins.
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