The United States Federal Government should legalize prostitution.

Thanks Whiteflame. For those who are curious, the sources Whiteflame used can be found in round 2 of this debate. http://www.debate.org...Resolution: "The United States of America should legalize prostitution."I appreciate the opportunity to debate such a controversial topic. "Prostitution must be exposed for what it really is: a particularly lethal form of male violence against women.” (1) Argument 1: States Rights I will address the full resolution which indicates we are talking about a country wide legalization of prostitution. This would be a violation of States rights. “The regulation of prostitution in the United States is not among the enumerated powers of the federal government. Under the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, it is therefore exclusively the domain of the states to permit, prohibit, or otherwise regulate commercial sex…” (http://en.wikipedia.org...) Ergo the resolution that “The United States of America should legalize prostitution” is negated in so much as the United States Federal Government does not have the authority to legalize prostitution. Therefore the United States Federal government should not legalize prostitution. Argument 2: Prostitution should be considered a crime as it creates victims. The crux of why I stand opposed to the resolution is simple. Prostitution should be considered a crime as it creates victims. This argument will be in two parts. First showing definitively that prostitution is dangerous and second showing that the legalization of prostitution does not change its danger. In addition to this argument I will address the full resolution which indicates we are talking about a country wide legalization of prostitution. This would be a violation of States rights. I will be referencing this table through-out. (4) Argument 2 Part 1: Prostitution is dangerous A: Prostitution spreads disease As the table above indicates 50% of prostitutes have HIV in the world. In the USA it is estimated that 20% of prostitutes in America have an STD. “In the United States, the rate of HIV infection among prostitutes varies from state to state. In New Jersey, 57 percent of prostitutes are HIV-positive” (1) B: Prostitution is psychologically harmful “Many prostitutes experience post-traumatic stress disorder because of rape and other assaults as well as the trauma of daily sexual contact with dominant strangers.” (1) C: Prostitution has a disturbingly high mortality rate “Mortality in a long-term Open Cohort of Prostitute women” a study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology found the “death rate among active prostitutes of 459 per 100,000 person-years, which is 5.9 times that for the (age and race adjusted) general population. This corresponds to an occupational fatality rate more than triple that of fishing workers (the highest fatality profession tracked by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics).” (2) D: Violence against prostitutes. “Eighty-five percent of prostitutes surveyed in Minnesota had been raped, according to a 1994 study of violence and prostitution. In another study, Farley and Kelly found that of 475 women interviewed in South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, the United States and Zambia, nearly 75 percent had been physically assaulted and 62 percent had been raped. A 1994 study by the Council for Prostitution Alternatives in Portland, Ore., found that prostitutes were raped an average of once a week.”(1) Due to the spread of disease, the psychological damage, the high mortality rate, and the direct violence against prostitutes, it is empirically evident that Prostitution is dangerous. Argument 2 Part 2: Legalization of prostitution does not change its danger. As it has been established that prostitution is harmful we can now address if legalizing such a practice impacts the danger. “The U.S. Government adopted a strong position against legalized prostitution in a December 2002 National Security Presidential Directive based on evidence that prostitution is inherently harmful and dehumanizing, and fuels trafficking in persons, a form of modern-day slavery. Prostitution and related activities, including pimping and patronizing or maintain brothels fuel the growth of modern-day slavery by providing a façade behind which traffickers for sexual exploitation operate. Where prostitution is legalized or tolerated, there is a greater demand for human trafficking. Few activities are as brutal and damaging to people as prostitution. Field research in nine countries concluded that 60-75 percent of women in prostitution were raped, 70-95 percent were physically assaulted, and 68 percent met the criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder in the same range as treatment-seeking combat veterans and victims of state-organized torture. Beyond this shocking abuse, the public health implications of prostitution are devastating and include a myriad of serious and fatal diseases, including HIV/AIDS… State Attempts to regulate prostitution by introducing medical check-ups or licenses don’t address the core problem: the routine abuse and violence that form the prostitution experience and brutally victimize those caught in its netherworld. Prostitution leaves women and children physical, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually devastated. Recovery takes years, even decades, often, the damage can never be undone.” (3) Conclusion: The Federal Government does not have the authority to legalize prostitution on a federal level. Such an action is a clear violation of States rights. Aside from this implementation issue, it is empirically evident that prostitution is dangerous. This is due to the spread of disease, the psychological damage, the high mortality rate, and the physical violence that accompanies prostitution. Legalization of prostitution does not change its danger. I conclude as the U.S. Government did in 2002…. Whether legal or not, “prostitution is inherently harmful and dehumanizing.” The United States Federal Government should not legalize prostitution. Back to Whiteflame. Sources(1) http://womensenews.org... (2) http://aje.oxfordjournals.org... (3)http://www.defense.gov... (4)http://sex-crimes.laws.com...