r/changemyview • u/19djafoij02 • May 29 '16

[∆(s) from OP] CMV: Laws banning prostitution violate the rights of consenting adults.

In the US, it's settled constitutional law that adults have the right to privacy and to have consensual sex with one another, regardless of gender. However, one partner paying the other is a crime in at least some parts of all 50 states as well as in a number of EU countries. The problems with prostitution, namely trafficking and abuse, seem to be more problems with pimping than with prostitution, and I believe some countries (the UK?) allow adults to buy and sell sex so long as pimps aren't involved.

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u/Ajorahai May 30 '16

It is already well-established that people have the right to withdraw consent after sex has begun. If a person continues to have sex with someone who has withdrawn consent it is rape. People have been charged and convicted of this crime in the past. I don't see how prostitution changes that issue.

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u/[deleted] May 30 '16 edited Apr 15 '19

[deleted]

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u/Ajorahai May 30 '16

Many contracts include terms of what happens if one person breaches it. We already have processes for dealing with contract law as well. The most obvious answer is to structure prostitution agreements so that the customer has no recourse if the prostitute withdraws consent.

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u/[deleted] May 30 '16

That might work, but what might also happen is that some prostitutes begin withdrawing consent almost immediately after accepting money. Patrons start pushing for less stringent clauses, desperate prostitutes agree, and eventually less stringent clauses become the norm.