Ruth Bader Ginsburg: "Prostitution as a consensual act between adults is arguably within the zone of privacy protected by recent constitutional decisions."

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Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg:
"Prostitution as a consensual act between adults is arguably within the zone of privacy protected by recent constitutional decisions."
Media Matters for America pointed out Ginsburg did not say she supported this view only that an argument could be made that it is protected by the Constitution.

A 1974 report co-authored by Ginsburg did address the constitutionality of prohibitions on prostitution But Ginsburg did not assert a position on either issue, as Media Matters for America previously noted in response to a nearly identical claim made by Wall Street Journal columnist Manuel Miranda.

During an interview with Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) on the October 31 2005 edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes, Hannity went on to detail Ginsburg's "very left-wing" record: HANNITY: I guess where I am on this, if you look at Ruth Bader Ginsburg, I mean, she -- the Ginsburg rule, she doesn't have to answer specific questions, clearly pro-choice going in, thinks there may even be a constitutional right to polygamy, ... supports legalized prostitution, very left-wing.

But Hannity's claims regarding Ginsburg's views on prostitution rely on a distorted reading of her 1974 report titled "The Legal Status of Women Under Federal Law." On the issue of prostitution, the report read: "Prostitution as a consensual act between adults is arguably within the zone of privacy protected by recent constitutional decisions." While Hannity and Miranda have misconstrued this sentence as an argument in favor of constitutional protection for prostitution, Ginsburg was merely stating that an argument could be made that such activity is protected by the Constitution. Indeed, during her 1993 confirmation hearing, when Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) noted this passage, Ginsburg highlighted the presence of the term "arguably." Hatch went on to concede that the sentence could not be construed as a stated position: "You were making an academic point. I understand. I'm not trying to indicate that you were justifying prostitution."