Is it because the sex act when filmed acquires the constitutional protection of the First Amendment? That is not vitiated by the fact that the actors are paid. The sex act between consenting adults in private is constitutionally protected, why is that protection lost when the actors are paid?
Surely, the associated social ills alleged to be the byproduct of prostitution such as exploitation, spread of disease, degradation of morals generally, are all to be found in filming porn. And what about the additional social degradation which occurs from the fact that the porn is published while the act of prostitution for hire is presumably done in private?
The legalization of prostitution, like the legalization of drugs, and the general acceptance of homosexuality, whether for good or ill, is inevitable and we should get on with it. That is not to say that these activities are in themselves desirable it is to say that the criminalization of these activities is more harmful to society then to tolerate and regulate them.
