Infant Mortality and Unwed Moms

Nicholas Eberstadt (“Out of Wedlock and Into Danger,” Op-Ed Page, Nov. 3) was correct in bringing the issue of the health and welfare of our children to the attention of your readers. The statistics on infant mortality are alarming indeed. According to the U.S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment, the U.S. ranks 17th, well behind most industrialized countries in this regard. Children are also the largest single group of Americans who are living in poverty.

However, his attack on “illegitimacy” is misguided and mean-spirited. While it is true that children who are born to single mothers are at risk for a variety of deleterious conditions, one is compelled to take issue with placing the blame on the “parental behavior” that accompanies single parenthood. Life is not as simple as Eberstadt presents it. How can he blame parents while the issue of parenthood by choice is being viciously attacked by a powerful minority in our country? The attack on sex education and family planning is advanced by the same conservative forces of which Eberstadt is a member. How can he place the blame on parental attitudes and behavior when the programs needed to ensure that all children are cared for are being systematically savaged?

Poverty, unemployment and underemployment, lack of opportunity, failure of the government to respond to the needs of families, sexism, racism, and mean-spirited attacks all contribute to the decimation of family and community integrity. Eberstadt ignores or discounts these factors and simply blames the victims. If you have any doubt of this thesis, just ask yourself why Eberstadt employs the term “illegitimate babies” in his article. Can we seriously believe that anyone who thinks that one baby is less legitimate than another merely because his parents were not married accepts the American values of equality, liberty and justice for all?

The real issue is that we have yet to accept the idea that our youth are our greatest national treasures. The larger society must engage in a partnership with all families to ensure that they have the tools and resources with which to nurture their children. Finally, our society must commit the resources that will permit this. Without them, we are responsible for wasting millions of lives.

ALAN J. LEVY

USC Assistant Professor and

Co-Principal Investigator

Calif. Adolescent Father Study