Right to Have Sex: The Legalization of Prostitution

The founders of America imagined a society that would allow people to live with little interference from the government, as long as their actions caused no harm to befall on others (Sommer). The fact that prostitution is not legal all-throughout the United States, goes against this very belief. When sex is exchanged for money, between two consenting adults there is no justification that the government can make to say this should be illegal. In fact, the legalization of prostitution would decrease the crime rate, lower the spreading of sexually transmitted diseases, enable law-enforcers to concentrate on more dangerous cases, and help the economy.

            Prostitution has been present in society for thousands of years. Known commonly as the ‘oldest profession’, laws that have prohibited the selling of the body, may be the world’s oldest means of government involvement in private issues. The government that is in place today, however, should not have laws that take away the basic rights that the Constitution promises. (Armentano) Prostitution has not always been such a faux-pas in the government. In fact, in Ancient Greece, Rome, and Egypt prostitution was perfectly legal, even acceptable (Liberator). These cultures actually gave status to the prostitutes for providing a necessary service for the community (Freedman 141). The need in the community for someone to fill this position is still present. The government’s insistence on fining and jailing prostitutes makes people resort to drastic measures to get the service. This elevates the crime rate dramatically, in situations where all crime could be avoided. By legalizing prostitution, this gap in the community could be filled in a safer manner.

            Based on several studies conducted, it has become clear that countries in which prostitution is actually legal do not have as many violent crimes (Liberator). In the US, since prostitution is illegal, prostitutes who are beaten up, raped, or abused do not have anywhere to turn. They cannot go to the authorities because they will often not be helped due to their jobs (Sloan 182). Criminals will target prostitutes and their johns because they know that they won’t want to go to the authorities. By reporting the crime they would have to reveal that they had been doing something illegal as well. If prostitution were legal, these crimes would be reported and the criminals would more likely be caught. Even just the threat of being caught, could prevent many crimes (Sommer). One can easily see that the crime rate would dramatically decrease, with the legalization of prostitution, making it seem the obvious course of action.

            A common complaint presented by those against prostitution is the spreading of sexually transmitted diseases, especially HIV. Bovard relates the statistic, that in Newark, New Jersey an astounding 57 percent of the prostitutes on the street were found to be HIV positive. He later compares that in contrast, the brothels in Nevada where it was legal, not a single prostitute had AIDs and only six percent of streetwalkers had the disease.  By legalizing prostitution the government would have more control, conducting monthly tests to assure that the spreading of AIDs was far less (Armentano). By having more control, the government can make sure that the health of its citizens improves. The only way to regulate, and prevent these life threatening diseases is to make prostitution legal.

            Another problem that has become increasingly more difficult to handle, is the very sparse amount of cops that are available to fight against serious crimes because they are dealing with prostitution (Sommer). According to Armentano, about one in every ten cops is working on vice-related cases. Furthermore, nearly a half of the women in jail in cities are prostitutes. Even more alarming however, is the amount of money used in one city to try and stop prostitution. In the city of Los Angeles, for example, about 100 million is spent to combat against the illegal prostitution. These numbers are frighteningly high and by legalizing prostitution can be greatly decreased. With the police not worrying about prostitution cases, they can save substantial amounts of money to be used to find real criminals. As Sommer argues, “The nation desperately needs more efforts applied to solving those crimes, because arrests are being made in connection with only about 20% of them.”  Cops may even prefer to go after these easier cases because it is less dangerous and as one cop says ‘more fun’ (Bovard).  Spending so much time locking up prostitutes, cops do not spend nearly enough time trying to catch the serious criminals like murders. By legalizing prostitution the public would be better protected; and the police more productive.

            Another factor that is not usually considered is the prostitute’s feelings. Often thought of as victims of sex trafficking or childhood abuse, in many cases they are grown women who have made this decision after much consideration (Sloan 180). Many prostitutes enjoy what they do; some are even highly educated and still choose to work in the sex industry (Monet 165). A prostitute herself Veronica Monet believes that for her this job is the perfect one. She has her own hours, gets paid well, and has a freedom that she never possessed at her job as a secretary. Some women feel empowered to charge men for what they are usually expected to provide for free (Sloan 183). In addition, many prostitutes wish to have workers rights that they could only receive if prostitution was legal (Freedman 273). It is not the government’s right to judge what is moral; to treat everyone equally the government must allow prostitution.

            The final reason that prostitution should be legalized is that it would significantly help the economy. In recent times we have been undergoing a recession, which means that the overall economy of the nation has been decreasing. The overall revenue for the sex industry is between seven billion and nine billion a year (Freedman 143).  The government is getting no cut of the money that is brought in by prostitution. In a time like this, the government should be seizing every opportunity to help the economy. Legalizing prostitution would be one such step. The government would also save large amounts of money. The amount of money spent to have the police try and stop prostitution is outrageous, even more is spent to house them in jails every year (Armentano). With the amount of jobs being lost in the current recession, new job opportunity’s such as prostitution could help the economy as a whole. The money could help individuals too, according to Monet one can earn nearly two hundred dollars an hour, much higher than many other jobs. This money could help individuals feed their families, live comfortably, and stay off the streets.

            Prostitution has been around for thousands of years, and it will be around for thousands more. By legalizing prostitution, the government can reduce crime, help the health of the nation, capture more criminals, and even boost the economy. Since the government has no right in determining what is moral, they should allow their citizens to live their lives as they choose, in the profession they wish to follow. So as George Carlin puts it, “Selling is legal, and sex is legal, so why isn’t selling sex legal?” (Sommer).