Originally posted by Spitman
On prostitution, some good views have been expressed here. If there was a way to decouple prostitution from crime, drugs etc. that is where I would want to go. Prostitution can be and often is a particularly appalling form of slavery in which the prostitute's personal dignity and even her protection from disease are surrendered. Some men will never treat a woman with respect, so I will not pretend that even in an ideal world prostitution is going to be a nice profession, but at least it can be voluntary, and a prostitute can have health care and protection from criminal exploitation.
The only way to eliminate the crime/slavery aspects of prostitution is to make it legal, so professional sex workers have the same recourse to help from the authorities that everyone else enjoys.

Bill