Sexuality, The Church and America -- Part 6 -- Legalized Prostitution

This is the last issue, other than the churches response, in this series.

Hookers, street walkers, working girls, soiled doves, doxies, call girls...no matter what you call them you are talking about prostitution. According to the best estimates 1% of women in the United States are prostitutes of some form or another. There is also no real economic class restrictions on women who engage in prostitution. There are a ton of part timers (waitress during the day; prostitute by night), to the down and outers to the expensive high end call girls.

Prostitution in legal in two states with limits.

In Rhode Island a woman can be a prostitute legally. What is illegal in Rhode Island is brothels, pandering (pimping) and street prostitution. In short a woman can prostitute herself for money but has to be an independent free agent and has to work out of her home.

Nevada also allows prostitution but a prostitute must be associated with a legal brothel. Prostitution outside these brothels is illegal. In Nevada there are also sundry laws regarding the fact that those that work in brothels must get regular health examinations among other things.

So what to think as a Christian. Historically this is a debatable point. Augustine said it should be tolerated so that men did not engage in some worse sin like homosexuality. Others have said it should be banned it because of its association with pagan worship.

Biblically, this is hard. Adultery is bad and so is fornication. Established that a Christian should not engage in prostitution or use a prostitute. See my previous posts along with the fact that even Jesus' lineage has two women how were or played the harlot -- Rehab and Tamar but both of them gave it up after they became part of God's chosen people. But what of society's choices in having to enforce these no prostitute laws.

1. The fact is that no prostitution law has stopped prostitution and all fifty states have women who practice it as well as men. Most prostitutes are non violent and the sin they engage in is not one that seems to harm anyone other than the promotion of disease.

2. Law enforcement finds itself using resources arresting women who are legal age for sex and otherwise law abiding. If you were to take those resources and say use them to fight underage prostitution and the sex slave trade would they be better spent? Perhaps it would, as I find those two things to be more ugly than regular plain Jane prostitution.

3. By making it legal you open up an avenue to regulate the practice. This means required health screenings and licenses with taxation for income. Instead of being totally in the dark authorities would have real numbers and situations to deal with instead of estimates. Another thing then is the legal trade would blow the whistle on the illegal stuff to get rid of competition. Then as legal businesses the women fall under the protection of the law and when violence does happen they would be at liberty to report it instead of just living with it for fear of being arrested themselves.

On the moral front I cannot condone the practice, but practically it exists and will not go away. "The world's oldest profession" got that name for a reason. As a Christian can I advocate the above for society. Perhaps. This is one issue where I think states rights should dominate the discussion. If the majority says illegal then it should be illegal but to those that legalize prostitution in some way like Rhode Island or Nevada, I can't really yell as they have made the decisions as a state. Let's the states decide and bring it to a vote of the public would be the best solution.

Next: How Should the Church React to All This?