I was angered to read Mrs J Maskell's opinions on young single mothers (Letters, November 2).

I will agree with Mrs Maskell there are some young women out there who do go out and get themselves pregnant with a view to gaining housing and support from the Government but to tar all these young pregnant mums-to-be is offensive. Those girls are in the minority.

I myself was a young 21, not a teen but close enough, when I had my son and I have raised him without his father but with support from my family since day one.

Not all these girls are lucky enough to have a supportive family. They aren't able to go out and get a job - even part-time - because even with help with childcare costs, they still can't earn enough to make it worthwhile going out to work in the first place.

If my family hadn't helped out by looking after my son, I wouldn't have been able to afford to work.

I know a lot of single parents who have no choice but to claim benefits and live in a council flat and not one of them chose the situation they find themselves in.

As for following America's lead, who's to say they've got it right?

How many families are torn apart and suffer years of pain and separation purely because there isn't enough money in the family?

Should these babies be stolen from their mothers' arms because they don't have a family they can turn to for help?

Maybe Mrs Maskell would like to be the one to go and remove the babies from their mothers.

She makes no mention of the fathers. Does she believe these girls are solely responsible?

The fathers, who are also usually teens themselves, need to be made to stand up and face their responsibilities.

Too often they are allowed to just fade away and make no financial contribution to the raising of their children.

The numbers wouldn't drop all that much if Mrs Maskell's law was brought in because girls are still going to crave love and attention and look for it in the lads around them, and sex will still happen.

The result of refusing new unmarried young mums any benefits would just mean a lot more children would be born into poverty.

-J Jarvis, Lower Bevendean