Some have said that prostitution is the world’s oldest profession. However the social stigma surrounding the sex trade and current legislature in the U.S has created a dangerous black market sex industry. By changing legislature we can remove the taboo of female sexuality, limit sexually transmitted diseases, and decrease violence against women. I propose on the basis of bodily autonomy, that prostitution should be decriminalized.
1. If a law violates bodily autonomy then that law should disbanded
2. The criminalization of prostitution violates bodily autonomy
3. Therefore laws banning prostitution should be disbanded. There are many opponents of the decriminalization of prostitution on moral, religious, and legal grounds. Next I will address some of the objections to my argument. Firstly, in
…show more content…
In this mindset, exploitative activities should be banned. Lastly, it can be argued that premise two is false; the criminalization of prostitution does not interfere with bodily autonomy. All consenting adults have the right to do what they want with their bodies in the private, but this does not transfer into the public marketplace. While these objections may appear valid at first, they lack a true understanding of the scope and institutional structures involved in the sex trade. In response to the first objection that the law has the right to ban dangerous, harmful or immoral activities, it is important to note first that just because something is considered immoral does not mean that it should be criminalized. Some may think that drink excessively is immoral, but this is not sufficient to make something illegal. Just as driving a car leads to thousands of deaths every year, but we don’t make it illegal. The intrinsic value of sex does not change when you add monetary exchange. Sex itself isn’t harmful. Rather the current legislature and social stigma surrounding the issue of sex trade has created an unsafe environment for sex