It is commonly believed that you can't mandate morality; therefore, if prostitution is allowed you must be concerned with the health of the participants. Sexually transmitted diseases and their prevention would be a major concern. Hundreds of thousands of people have died from AIDS. This disease is a major health and socioeconomic concern.

100% agreed that morality cannot be legislated. This is precisely why regulating a practice that will not go away is perhaps the best way to keep the public in check: Health issues, age issues, and the likes would at least be accounted for, if not under control.

The thing is that prostitution is already regulated in some places, for example, in the famous Bunny Ranch, where it is not only a common practice, but is actually so well-known that it brings good business and tourist dollars to the city in which it operates. I also agree with the previous post in that there are plenty of women who are no different from prostitutes int he way that they behave with men in exchange for favors. What is worse, there are some that do not even get that much in return for always preferring the company of a loser.

In the end, the sexual act is merely one more body function that people use at will for whatever reason. Some do it for manipulation, others for money, others for vice. As long as people are safe and nobody is getting hurt mentally or physically, who am I to judge anybody?

Hello herappleness!!

While it is a common point of view that morality cannot be legislated, a serious recollection of the contents of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence will conclusively disprove this popular idea. According due freedom and liberty to early American Africans is morality legislated. Recent legislation against hate crimes and bullying is morality legislated. Laws banning racial profiling is morality legislated. We indeed can and indeed do legislate morality. It seems to me the most important factor in legalization of prostitution reflects what countries like The Netherlands have in place, which is periodic government certification of the health of the worker. This is critical both for their sakes and the clients' sakes.

100% agreed that morality cannot be legislated. This is precisely why regulating a practice that will not go away is perhaps the best way to keep the public in check: Health issues, age issues, and the likes would at least be accounted for, if not under control.

The thing is that prostitution is already regulated in some places, for example, in the famous Bunny Ranch, where it is not only a common practice, but is actually so well-known that it brings good business and tourist dollars to the city in which it operates. I also agree with the previous post in that there are plenty of women who are no different from prostitutes int he way that they behave with men in exchange for favors. What is worse, there are some that do not even get that much in return for always preferring the company of a loser.

In the end, the sexual act is merely one more body function that people use at will for whatever reason. Some do it for manipulation, others for money, others for vice. As long as people are safe and nobody is getting hurt mentally or physically, who am I to judge anybody?

To underscore what post #8 has so cogently stated, morality cannot be legislated.  Therefore, it would be best to regulate prostitution in the manner in which European countries handle it. (In Nevada there are places in which prostitution is legal) That is, as the above post mentions, there should be licensing which, in turn, requires periodic check-ups.

Since prostitution is the oldest profession, it cannot be done away with.  After all, there are many women who essentially prostitute themselves to one man with whom they stay because he pays all their bills in return for sexual favors.  Should there, also, be a law against this behavior? 

The main factors, I would argue, that should be involved in any such regulation should be 1) public health, and 2) public safety.  While it is simple to outlaw prostitution, societies have never been successful at ending, or even containing it.  Therefore, from a practical legal and societal standpoint, preventing the spread of disease by licensing prostitutes and regulating health exams can help to promote public health.

In addition, since criminalized prostitution brings out an element of organized crime, human trafficking, and violence in the sex trade, legalizing and regulating it can also be an issue and goal of public safety by reducing related crime.

Regulation and banning are two different things, it seems to me. If we are going to talk about how to regulate prostitution, we need to talk about rules for managing this practice. As pointed to in post #5, there are places where this regulation is a real consideration. In those places personal safety and health seem to be at the root of the rules and regulations. 

Banning things that some people find morally objective does not always serve the greater good, and it certainly becomes restrictive to personal freedoms. Banning prostitution can lead to banning other morally questionable acts, such as abortion and homosexuality. Though prostitution is illegal in the USA, it is not in many other countries. In Holland, prostitution is regulated, and prostitutes are medically examined regularly for diseases. Judging by the number of people who visit prostitutes and brothels, there is a demand for them--not unlike the need some people have for other questionable habits, such as liquor or cigarettes.

One factor is whether we want to regulate it or simply ban it.  The previous post implies that prostitution should be banned, not regulated.

If we are going to regulate it, we need to make sure that prostitutes are not being forced into prostitution.  Secondly, we need to do all that we can to ensure that prostitutes and their clients would not get STDs.

For the most part, prostitution is illegal in America and in many other parts of the world. There is good reason for this. Therefore, my first point would be that we should not loosen the law regarding prostitution. It should remain illegal and there should be more regulations to stop this. 

First, prostitution demeans women for the most part. To be sure, there are male prostitutes, but the majority of them are women. Hence, to loosen any laws regarding prostitution would be to legalize the demeaning of women and objectifying them. More importantly, we need to regulate the source of prostitution, which brings me to my second point. 

Second, we need to target the sources of prostitution. We should actively go against anyone who deals in the trafficking of people. The strictest laws and penalties should be used in this case. This action alone will be a huge step in the right direction, in my opinion.

Third, we should also not focus so much on the prostitutes themselves, as they are often times victims. We need a paradigm shift here. We need to go after the pimps, who manipulate them. 

If we did the following, we would be making some good strides.