Controversy Over Abortions

One of the most remarkable aspects of today’s society is the feeling that we can fix a complex problem with an easy solution. One such easy, and failed, solution is the new parental consent law spoken of by Carol Sobel and Jo Ellen Pasman (Op-Ed Page, Sept. 29). They are right on target about the faultiness of this decision. A teen with an unintended pregnancy, that now because of this new law might deliver, faces an almost sure road into poverty or a dead-end job--if she can find one.

Most likely, a low-income woman without the traditional family support won’t be able to afford child care, and probably won’t work for a company that supplies it. Yet, the recent legislation does nothing to help in these situations; it only helps put women into them, while the state administration continues to cut other valuable programs which would complement this new law.

It never ceases to amaze me how people ignore the facts. The parental consent law might work if all parents and children communicated, if all families supported a child in trouble, if our court system wasn’t already too overburdened, or if access to the courts was made easily available to adolescent women. The next step will include an added attack on family planning and contraceptive education, advocated by many of the parental consent law proponents. And, again, with their misdirected ignorance of the facts, they will attempt to solve a difficult problem with a simplified solution. In the same manner, they will attempt to restrict the only proven means that prevents a woman from being forced to deal with this tragic dilemma.

CRAIG A. VINCENT-JONES

West Hollywood