Prostitution cannot be defended on moral grounds. Neither can getting drunk every night, having sex with a new person every week, and other activities which are legal, but might strike many people as immoral and reckless. Some people find guns immoral. Does that mean we should ban all guns? Do the members of PETA have the right to ban eating meat?

Indeed, its perfectly legal for a person to have unprotected sex with an unlimited number of people. Yet, if so much as a cent exchanges hands, tat person has now committed a crime!

Outlawing a vice is not the only way to discourage it. Tobacco, for instance, is legal, but we tax and regulate the hell out of it. Legalize prostitution, but get rid of the pimps, ban street walking, tax it a lot, and require prostitutes to get checked for sex diseases every month and educate them in safer sex practices. At the same time, the government could encourage women (and men) to find another line of work.