Mill on the Contagious Diseases Acts.

This paper considers the evidence that J.S. Mill gave to the Royal Commission on the Contagious Diseases Acts in 1871, and the compatibility of his opposition to the legislative scheme for supervising the health of prostitutes with the general principles set out in his famous essay ON LIBERTY. Mill joined a numer of prominent feminists in opposing the Acts. He argued that--even though the Acts aimed to prevent harm--they had a lop-sided impact on liberty, because they compromised the liberty of women prostitutes and not the liberty of their male clients. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]