Here in this most intimate of private behavior, we see the roots of a public problem. Alcoholic or drug-addicted women cannot generally be expected to behave responsibly. Hence they often become infected with AIDs and other STDs which make s them a public health hazard. And, given their unsatisfied needs for affection, we can t be surprised when they get pregnant. The public ramifications of private morals cannot be ignored especially when the impact on significant numbers of children is so obvious.
Prostitution has an appalling underbelly a world of abduction, coercion and sexual slavery.
Just do the arithmetic to understand the profit involved. Laurie s success, both personally and professionally, is a cruel fiction. Ironically, The West Wing , while glamorizing Laurie s lifestyle, can t avoid this fundamental truth. For the same reasons we all should. Janice Shaw Crouse , Ph.D. is a member of the Coalition Against Sexual Trafficking of Women and Children.