Prostitution is known as the oldest profession in the world, however, many states in the U. S. outlaw it. The textbook definition of prostitution is the “act or practice of engaging in sexual acts for money” (“Prostitution,” Macmillan 805). Nevada is the first in the United States to legalize prostitution. Although the long term effects of legalized prostitution is uncertain, the short term effects have been economically beneficial. Prostitution should be legalized because not only could it financially benefit the country, but it could also reduce crime.
There are many reasons why prostitution is illegal in 49 U. S. states today. First, and foremost, many people feel that prostitution should stay illegal in order to preserve morality. Parents do not want their children to grow up thinking that prostitution is acceptable. Worse yet, parents do not want to hear their children say, “When I grow up, I want to be a prostitute. ” Christianity also looks down upon prostitution because according to their beliefs, the act of sex is only to be done when a man and a women are in love and married.
Monogamy is to be practiced in the marriage, and any violation of this is considered a sin. Another reason why the preservation of morality is so important is that people’s morals shape the future of a nation. Many people feel that if prostitution is legalized, then its long term effects would be detrimental to the United States. The divorce rate in the United States peaked at an all time high in 1980 (“Marriage” 56). By the legalization of prostitution, this would allow room for husbands and wives to commit adultery.
Thus, leading the marriage to a divorce. The divorce rate has really increased over the centuries. In the U. S. today, the divorce rate is fifty percent of the U. S. ” (Holland 86). Second, prostitution is a great health risk to the U. S. because of the spread of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). A major concern about STDs is the spread of AIDS, which is currently a deadly STD because a cure has not been found for the disease. The transmission of 2 STDs is already on the rise due to many uneducated teenagers having unprotected sex.
In addition, most of theses teens are not going to a physician to be screened for STDs. Because of this, many curable STDs are going untreated and being spread throughout a community. Prostitution only adds to this problem because prostitutes have sexual contact on a daily basis, and rarely have themselves screened for STDs. Most of the time, prostitutes will not go to a doctor because they can’t afford it, they’re too afraid, and/or they just don’t want to deal with it. Unfortunately, simply ignoring the problem does not make it go away.
Some taxpayers feel that this problem will only increase the cost of health care. In some cases prostitutes become pregnant and are left to raise a child on their own. For these women, their futures are uncertain because now they have a child to care for. This is another concern for taxpayers because the majority of these women will seek government assistance. With prostitution being illegal, many violent crimes against prostitutes go unreported every year. Prostitutes are often too frightened to report the crime to police.
Most of the time, the crime’s perpetuator is a pimp or a client. Several of the crimes committed against prostitutes include robbery, kidnaping, rape, battery, and/or homicide. Prostitutes, however, are not the only victims. Sometimes the client is also the victim. “A street prostitute is already a lawbreaker, which may encourage other crimes, such as rolling’ clients (drugging them and stealing their money)” (“Street Cleaning” 25). As a result, crimes associated with illegal prostitution often go unreported and without punishment.
Although enforcement of illegal prostitution exhausts a great amount of time, some citizens feel that the time is well spent. Many residents complain that street prostitution brings noise, declining property values, a bad environment for children, and a health threat. Residents 3 feel that street prostitution detracts from the innocence of their children’s childhood; and no price is too high to prevent this from happening. One tactic that is being implemented by a few urban police departments is the seizure of the vehicle belonging to the prostitute’s client.
The driver must then appear at an impoundment garage to pay a fine and processing costs, typically around $300. All parties whose names appear on the vehicle registration-wives and employers included-must then sign if the car is to be returned” (“Prostitution,” CQ 32). Prostitution involves many different kinds of crimes. With this in mind, some citizens feel that if prostitution is eliminated, then many of the crimes associated with prostitution will also be eliminated or decreased. Thus, saving taxpayers money that would ordinarily be used in court fees and enforcement fees.
On the other hand, a survey taken in 1993 showed that 40 percent of Americans think that prostitution should be legalized and regulated (“Database” 16). From the technical aspect, prostitution should not be illegal because the act itself does not infringe upon anyone’s constitutional right. Furthermore, no where in the constitution does it state that accepting or offering money for sexual acts is illegal. Many people, however, argue that our forefathers did not envision a nation where sex was a profession and taxable.
Conversely, prostitution has been around for so long that it is almost apart of our history. No one actually knows when prostitution began or how it originated; yet, our forefathers had to know about prostitution, because Europe (especially France and Russia) is infamous for the prostitutes who work there. Still, “the world’s oldest trade has always outwitted attempts to suppress it” (“Street Cleaning” 24). Another reason why some citizens are calling for the decriminalization of prostitution is that it would greatly reduce the transmission of STDs.
Legalized prostitution has shown that 4 prostitutes who work in brothels practice safe sex and are less likely to contract and transmit STDs. As indicated in the article entitled, “Prostitution”: George Flint, director of the Nevada Brothel Association, point with pride to the 20,000 monthly AIDS tests that have been performed on legal prostitutes since tests were required in 1986-with HIV showing up only among job applicants. Similarly, not a single case of AIDS turned up in a 1991 survey of 7,000 ests on 246 legal prostitutes in Nevada from 1982 to 989.
By contrast, of 700 illegal prostitutes arrested in 1990 for soliciting in Nevada, 10 percent tested positive for HIV (36). Many brothels in Nevada also require its customers to go through an exam before business is able to proceed. This practice of screening customers adds to the record of safe sex in legal prostitution. With this in mind, brothels are able to control (to an extent) the statistics of STDs in legal prostitution. In summary, legal prostitution is a safer alternative to street prostitution because customers and job applicants are screened for STDs.
