Prostitution should be legalized in the United States

I thank DoctorDeku for hosting this debate and I appreciate the civility, candor, and readability of his presentation.ArgumentPRO has framed the debate around prostitution as a moral and legal imperative. However, by doing so, PRO has attempted to skirt the economic realities of the situation.According to PRO's own source, "many poor families sell their daughters to Hindu temples. The temple priests often sell these girls to pimps in major cities such as Mumbai. Ironically, they are looked upon as high-class prostitutes and even sex symbols in Hindu society." [1] This is not a preferred profession - India is known for having some of the worst levels of poverty and inequality in the world, thereby accounting for its 3 million prostitutes. [2] These women are typically from families so poor that they cannot even take care of their own daughters without risking starvation. In wealthier countries it is not much better. South Korea is now a developed nation, and it also has a booming sex trade, accounting for "approximately 1.6 per cent of GDP, or about $14 billion annually." [3] Yet, we see the same story:"Lim’s study of Korean sex trafficking victims in the U.S. and a Namseoul University study on prostitution in South Korea suggest that lack of economic opportunity for women plays the major role in driving women to make risky decisions like being smuggled into America or willingly engaging in prostitution at home. Personal debt explains why women have been enslaved in many cases." [4]"The lack of opportunity is simply explained by gender inequality...The latest data from the OECD has it that the gender-income gap in South Korea was a whopping 38.9 per cent in 2009 – the largest among the 27 member countries at the top of the world’s economy. [4]We see the same pattern. Lack of economic opportunity drives these women into this profession. It is not a choice, even for PRO's vaunted Devadasi. To claim a moral imperative on the backs of poor, disadvantaged, and vulnerable women is irresponsible and unconscionable. Keep in mind that for the Devadasi, "a girl as young as 6 years old is dedicated to an Indian Goddess." A Devadasi answered in an interview that "“I was only six when my parents dedicated me,” she said. “I had no feelings at the time, except wondering: why have they done this? We were very poor and had many debts." [5] Remember that the word "dedicated" is synonymous to "sold to the local temple." This is child slavery, specifically of young girls.South Korea shows what may happen in a society if this exploitation of women is allowed to continue:"... frequenting prostitutes is an accepted part of life for Korean married men. In fact, it is often required of businessmen if they want to be successful and accepted among their coworkers...""It’s impossible to go anywhere in this country without being faced with a constant barrage of prostitution venues. Of course, they often masquerade as something else- massage parlors, karaoke rooms, barber shops, tea shops, PC rooms, bars, rest houses, etc., but they all offer at least the possibility of sex.""I can’t conceive of how Korean men can not only hurt and disrespect their wives like this, but also spend all their time fraternizing with coworkers and women rather than spending it with their children." [6]This is morally reprehensible. There is no moral high ground in this misogyny. Gender equality and economic opportunity is what SHOULD be the moral imperative, not prostitution. (out of room)[1] http://www.globalprayerdigest.org...;[2] http://www.unodc.org...;[3] http://www2.macleans.ca...;[4] http://www.koreaandtheworld.com...[5] http://globalhealthlaw.wordpress.com...[6] http://thegrandnarrative.com...