If ignorance is truly bliss, Frank Arlinghaus of the Pennsylvania Intercollegiate Federation for Life must be positively giddy. In an article in Monday's Collegian reporting Idaho's new anti-abortion bill, Mr. Arlinghaus asserts that "the point of (the Idaho) law is to outlaw abortions in cases of convenience."

If Mr. Arlinghaus' statement is true, he expects us to believe that 90 percent of the 1,500 abortions performed in Idaho last year, which is the percentage of abortions that would have been banned by the restrictions of the new law, were what he has labeled "abortions of convenience."

Moreover, if we can assume from Mr. Arlinghaus' statement his belief that the restrictions enumerated in the Idaho law define what may be considered an "abortion of convenience" let us consider some hypothetical cases where women, possibly seeking an abortion, would be placed into that restricted category:

-- The woman who is a victim of the violent act of rape and who, for whatever reason, fails to report the crime within one week. (Incidentally, the statute of limitations for reporting a rape in this state is 5 years.)

-- The 18-year-old young women who is the victim of incest.

-- The illiterate, impoverished woman who has not received any education in the use of contraceptives.

-- The single mother whose method of contraception failed, and who cannot afford to carry a child to term while supporting her family.

The new Idaho law would prevent all of these women from choosing abortion and would leave them with no choice but to carry the child to term.

To justify this by saying that these women were seeking an "abortion of convenience" is as ludicrous as it is insulting. Mr. Arlinghaus' implication is the most women choose abortion as a method of birth control and his statement is degrading to all responsible women.

Make no mistake. The point of the Idaho law and all similar legislation is to rob women of their autonomy by restricting or eliminating their right to choose.

Mr. Arlinghaus' self-serving sophistries are a blatant affront to the intellect of women and men who are legitimately concerned about the effect that the Idaho law will have in this state.