WASHINGTON -- Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., announced this week that she is "open" to decriminalizing sex work.

"I'm open to decriminalization. Sex workers, like all workers, deserve autonomy but they are particularly vulnerable to physical and financial abuse and hardship," Warren, who is running for president, said in a statement Wednesday to the Washington Post.

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Warren is the latest Democrat to take a stance on decriminalizing sex work. Sens. Kamala Harris, D-Calif, and Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Reps. Tulsi Gabbard and Seth Moulton, have all said they would decriminalize sex work, according to BuzzFeed. Sen. Bernie Sanders in a statement to the Washington Post also said that "decriminalization is certainly something that should be considered."

Several state legislatures have also brought up bills involving sex work, with New York being the latest to consider making it legal to engage in the consensual sale of sex.

But, Warren's position would seem to be somewhat at odds with her prior support of federal anti-trafficking legislation.

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Last year, Congress passed two anti-trafficking bills, Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA) and Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA), which became law.

Warren previously voted for FOSTA, which bans websites used by sex workers to screen clients. In addition, she also introduced bipartisan legislation with Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., that would pressure banks to shut down accounts suspected of engaging in trafficking, HuffPost reported.

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And the Massachusetts Democrat warned that she doesn't want to undermine legal protections for those who have suffered from sex trafficking.

"We need to make sure we don't undermine legal protections for the most vulnerable, including the millions of individuals who are victims of human trafficking each year," she also told the Post.

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