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It
is long overdue for prostitution to be decriminalized
in the U.S. Prostitution fills a vital role in our
society by addressing the sexual and emotional needs of
men and women who may have no where else to turn, and by
providing high paying employment options to women
and men who wish to provide sexual services.
People
in a free society have the right to work in their chosen
profession, and to do with their own bodies as they
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choose. Likewise, all
citizens have the right to engage in consensual
adult sexual contact. Whether money is exchanged or not
is irrelevant. Criminalization of prostitution is wrong.
Questions
and Answers
What
is prostitution?
Prostitution
is a business where sex is exchanged for money.
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Isn't
prostitution illegal because it's exploitative?
Prostitution
is no more exploitative than any other profession.
Construction workers are exploited to build homes and
buildings, maids and janitors are exploited to clean up
after others, and professional athletes are
exploited to provide entertainment. What matters is that
the individuals in those professions have each made
a choice to earn a living as they see fit. Not how their
parents, teachers, or community leaders see fit, but how
they themselves see fit. This is the basis for
a free and democratic society, and is a fundamental
human right.
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Can't
you catch sexually transmitted diseases from
prostitutes?
Disease
transmission among licensed prostitutes is
substantially lower than the transmission rate found in
the general population. In fact, it hovers near zero.
This is because nearly all licensed prostitutes are
required to use latex condoms by either their employers
or by the health codes in their communities. |
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We
support regulations that require prostitutes to use
condoms when engaging in oral, vaginal, or
anal sex as an effective public health measure.
Why
is prostitution illegal in so many places?
Prostitution
laws are remnants of religious and moral codes designed
to curb human sexuality because it was once
thought to be evil. Lack of technologies to prevent
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pregnancies
and sexually transmitted diseases was also a major
reason for anti-prostitution laws. The law has not
yet caught up with
the realities of modern democracy and technology,
however, so many prostitution laws remain in place.
What
needs to be done?
Either
Congress must pass a human rights law decriminalizing prostitution,
or the Supreme Court needs to issue a ruling declaring
that laws banning prostitution are unconstitutional
because they violate a person's right to privacy. |
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