believe it or not the U.S. is much more conservative on certain moral issues than other countries. perhaps it's from our Puritan origins. I've read rather than experienced that many countries, especially in Europe have a much more open attitude toward sex and things of a sexual nature than the U.S. does. It makes us seem like adolescents at times, I think.

Yeah, ok. I don't actually feel strongly about it, but if you need a Devil's advocate here it is: Individual rights are not absolute, just as individuals themselves are not absolute -- i.e. there really is no such thing as a "private act" in an absolute sense... everything we do interacts with the rest of life, often in subtle ways. Philosophers have argued for ages about where individual rights intersect with society's rights, and these arguments rarely get resolved to anyone's satisfaction. Why? Because there's an illusion that the two are separate. Working with defective assumptions produces defective conclusions. What does that mean with regard to prostitution? It means that prostitution is not a completely private act between consenting adults, there are "ripple" effects on the lives of those involved which reach out and touch others. If we stand back at a reasonable distance and tune in to these effects, it seems to me that they're generally negative. So the SUM of the effects is detrimental overall, and those effects extend beyond simply the individuals involved, that brings it into territory where society has a legitimate interest. Of course, you can make this argument for just about any "private act". My point is that there isn't a hard-and-fast line between private and public, between individual areas of responsibility and society's areas of responsibilities. It's a mistake to say "this is my business, and nobody else can tell me what to do", but it's also a mistake to say "you have no rights to make private choices". When we enter these subtle areas of overlap, good judgment is called for, not absolutes. And in that territory, regulation of prostitution does seem to have it's place.

I am surprise the goverment doesn't push for it to be legalized...another way to get more tax money

Brand Y. said: "It's a mistake to say "this is my business, and nobody else can tell me what to do", but it's also a mistake to say "you have no rights to make private choices"." One debatable point is wether people in prostitution(mostly women) "choose" to become prostitutes in the same way somebody chooses to become a lawyer or a doctor: --Many women in prostitution had been sexually abused when children (do a little research online and you'll find out) --Many women in prostitution do it just as a survival strategy: they need for for themselves or for their child. Women's oppression may have something to do with this. (do research online) --Most women in prostitution don't want to be prositutes anymore but they feel they can't do anything else (do research) --Most prostitues have experience rape from their clients. do you think that by legalizing it prostitution will become harmless to porstitutes? it's almost like legalizing the right to sell yourself as a temporary slave.