The Maine Problem With The Nordic Model

https://apnews.com/article/maine-legislature-partially-decriminalize-prostitution-04161133ca6fd340ce4443f322ec0c96

Maine Democratic Gov. Janet Mills on Monday signed into law a bill that partially decriminalizes prostitution, with supporters saying the measure protects the most vulnerable while still targeting those who exploit them.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Lois Reckitt, D-South Portland, eliminates the crime of engaging in prostitution. It also elevates the crime of solicitating a child for commercial sexual exploitation, lifting the crime from a misdemeanor to a felony with a maximum punishment of five years in state prison.

Reckitt, the longtime director of Family Crisis Services in Portland and an advocate for women suffering from domestic abuse, said the bill will help people pushed into sex trafficking by desperate circumstances.

Reckitt joined Mills for the bill-signing ceremony two years after the governor vetoed a similar bill.

“We are long overdue to better protect and decriminalize sellers engaged in prostitution without legalizing pimping and sex buying,” Reckitt said in a statement.