> I never understood this: it's your body so you have the right to an abortion, but...

There may be less to understand than you think: there is a huge overlap between groups of people who are very anti-abortion and groups who are very anti-prostitution. The religious right to give the most obvious example (as they are loudly vocal, highly active, and in many places countries pretty controlling via lobbying), but that is definitely not the only example.

There are reasons to support one but not the other though they are contested. Many see prostitution as something that will lead to people trafficking and other crime. The opposing views, that legalising it will reduce such crime by bringing the activity more into the open so availability is not an issue for those who wish to take part (reducing the trafficking to bring in resource) and so those who chose to take part are better protected, don't generally win out in relevant debates.

Studies of real world examples show wildly differing results (in part because most of them are run and/or funded by those with some bias towards one result or another) and experimental studies have problems getting through ethics committees for obvious reasons - so it is going to be a complex issue to resolve (and is unlikely to ever be resolved to the satisfaction of all).

> someone for a promise to marry, someone for marriage, someone hoping it leads to something, rent paid etc etc. Who are to decide what "currency"

Again, in many cases you'll find the judgement applied to selling sex is similarly applied to this form of currency, or if not other moral judgement is often found.

The "NO" side, IMO, is mostly for religious /morality reasons or the ultra-feminists that think women will be abused by men. The first part I understand, it's at least consistent. But I don't see how a bunch of women in DC or ivory towers can claim that a 16 yo girl can decide /has the right to abort but 40 yo woman can't decide to have sex for $150 a shot.

The latter are merely a very vocal minority though. Very very vocal, but in the grand scheme of things in what is a massive debate that has been going on for centuries in various forms with strongly defended positions on all sides, a drop in the ocean.

> ...it's your body so you have the right to an abortion.

Absolute sovereignty over one's own body was never really a thing. There were always substances that were illegal to consume somewhere. There were always, even today, laws about public decency. There were always laws against suicide. Today things like trans fats and alcoholic energy drinks face bans.

So the controversy isn't about whether people get to decide what to do to their bodies, it's about when.

I tend to be more libertarian on these issues, but I recognize that the principle of personal bodily sovereignty isn't widely held.

Because we view marriage as special and the sex act as affirming love? Your mother cares for you as a child because she loves you..if you found out instead your mother solely cared for you to receive a paycheck, wouldn't that cheapen it?Can you imagine a nation of mothers like that?