Originally Published at Associated Press
By Melinda Deslatte
Facing opposition from her colleagues, a New Orleans lawmaker Tuesday shelved her proposal to decriminalize prostitution across the state, ending the debate for the legislative session.
People with religious organizations and anti-trafficking organizations opposed the legislation. They said it was impossible to separate sex work from human trafficking, questioned whether women willingly chose sex work as an occupation and said the bill would send a dangerous message to children. They argued decriminalizing prostitution would encourage sex work to grow.
“How can this be a little girl’s dream?” said Diane Amos, executive director of Free Nola, an anti-trafficking organization.
Patrina Mosley, with the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, said most of the women doing sex work are being exploited and abused. She said decriminalizing prostitution would increase trafficking and violent crime.
