Prosecuting Johns

Why is it that women only own their bodies when it comes to abortion (constitutionally protected)? Why do they not posess the same ownership of their bodies if they choose to lease portions of their bodies for short periods of time? Nobody is talking about "buying" women. Buying is permanent, leasing is temporary. I suspect the author chose that word intentionally because it is much more dramatic and conjures up images of slavery. At the end of the day, prostitution is a business transaction. If women truly own their bodies, isn't the ability to buy, sell or lease something the ultimate determination of ownership. Keep all your laws off my body, not just the ones you agree with.

There will always be prostitution so long as there are men & women for that matter who are sexually unsatisfied either alone or in their "legitimate" relationships. It is actually very honest, hard work. I think prositutes need to be protected by the state & not prosecuted. In fact, prostitutes should recognized as "sex workers" , unionized, issued health insurance & in short protected from the many hazards they are exposed to daily especially as street workers. Unfortuantely, these women in filling a very real social need are often abused by men. There needs to be a lot more educatio in the US regarding sex workers role & rights.

Prostitution must be legalised.

It is a service,lika a massage or physiotherapy...

Spitzer is a centrist,for NY standards.

Made a major mistake,paid for it with resignation. & personal humiliation

A fallen angel who can come back...

No sympathy for prostitutes,they do that profession because they like it .

As long as there are clients,there will be prostitutes around.

I.e... till the end of time...

This is just another case that shows people in high power are above the law, so really whats the point in having the laws if only a select number of people have to follow them? in the past few years the wind has been taken out of my sails when it comes to political figures and celebrities getting off with a slap on the hand. crazy thing is if the roles were flipped and it was elliot spitzer's daughter that was involved there would be a huge uproar and heads would spin but since its a political man well then lets just look the other way. the whole system is terrible and makes me ashamed and scared that people like the DOJ are suppose to keep us safe, they can't even keep us safe from political officials so good luck with that one!

It is very dangerous when the great powers are given permission to call Human Trafficing "Travel Dates". Charging Spitzer with his crime would have sent a powerful message that this country has respect for people, that it is not okay to prey on those who feel they have no other option than prostitution. Nobody comes into this world dreaming of being a prostitute when they grow up. It is something pursued out of desperation. It was said that the justice department felt Spitzer had suffered enough and did not want to "kick him when he was down" What was Mr. Spitzer doing by participating in Human Trafficing? Or does it not matter because he is rich and from a prominent family?

I don't think you need to hang the guy or anything, but why shouldn't he be charged and prosecuted the same as any regular John would?

But of course it's a double standard. Anyone who thinks Americas' justice system is fair needs a mental check up.

You pay people to wash your car, clean your house, trim your trees, cut your grass, make your food, but can't pay them for intercourse. If you believe this for religious reasons, then I respect that. If you are just a liberal, feminist, whose "God" is gender equality, then get over yourself and find something productive to do. I bet you dollars to donuts the author is in the second group.

Is he a Democrat? You can tell that he's a Democrat, because no media discuss his party. It's only when the Republicans are unethical do you hear? "Senior Republican (so-and-so) did something illegal, according to undisclosed and unverifiable sources"

We have very current presidents that have broken the law at some point in their lives and we didn't rake them over the coals. Let the law deal with this man as it should. He and his family will be dealing with this for a long time. The public should only deal with this at the polls.

If it is against the law to hire a prostitute in New York, why should a public offical be above the law, when an average Joe would be prosecuted? Looks to me like, two sets of rules, one for the haves, and one for the have-nots. Not much differant than the reat of society. Not much to say for our society, is it.

The guy is human. He's taking enough grief from his family over this. Sure, it's breaking the law, but both Bush and Cheney have convictions in their backgrounds, and they were where? We let President Clinton off the hook. Let the law do it's thing and go on with life. The public can choose to reelect him or not. That should be our only real response.

Water under the bridge, babe.

The rich and famoujs get off, the rest of us would have to face the music. something is broken with the system, and this case is proof. If you do the crime, do the time.

What about prosecuting Ashley Dupre, the prostitute Spitzer hired? Is she to be excused because adult women with unhappy backgrounds are incapable of making decisions about their lives and their bodies? (Analogy to access to abortion?) And why say Spitzer "bought" Dupre for sex? Why not say Dupre marketed and sold herself? We punish drug dealers more harshly than drug users. Why is it flipped around for sex sellers and sex buyers? There's not much integrity to this column. Seems more an effort to induce comments. In which case, they snagged me.

Prositiution is not a victimless crime becuase it is often chosen by women who were sexually assualted or poor, i.e., women who were victims in the past? Your conclusion is left unsupported. Rather, prostitution itself, specifically when the prostitute is paid $4000 an hour and where no abuse results, is victimless. It is a choice when entered into between consenting adults. Moreover, Johns are not "buying women" any more than anyone "buys a woman" to provide a massage, style their hair, or file their taxes. It is a service, admittedly an intimate one, and nothing more. Your characterization of Ms. Dupre and other women as victims of trafficking and sex strips them of their humaness and free will. Your illogical rant paints them as powerless, unequal to the persuasive authority and economic advantages held by men. You should be embarrassed for having published such a emotionally driven, poorly written and unsupportable thesis in a national magazine.

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