Margaret Wente Weighs In on the "Quaint" Idea That Renting Out One's Orifices Has Anything to Do With Morality (Or the Absence Thereof)

Wente writes re the overheated reaction to the Conservative government's prostitution legislation (which she concedes is flawed, but which she says at least endeavors to do something constructive):

Many sassy young progressive commentators (including women) assume that prostitution is like marijuana – that the moral issues are as outdated as hoop skirts, and anyone who thinks otherwise is an uptight reactionary old prude. After all, women should have a right to do whatever they want with their own bodies, and what happens between two consenting adults is nobody else’s business. Prostitutes are no different from piano teachers, so get over it! They sound like Hugh Hefner circa 1962. Personally, I eagerly await the day when these women’s husbands come home and say, “Sorry I’m late, honey, I stopped off on the way for a blow job.” I am sure they’ll think nothing of it.

The "consenting adults" trope fails to pass muster when one of the "adults" (the one renting out her orifices) is a drug addict, or is being trafficked by a member of an organized crime syndicate, or isn't an adult but is a runaway teenager.