Dear Mr. Dad: My girlfriend and I talked many times about children and mutually decided not to have any. However, without telling me, she changed her mind and got pregnant. I have absolutely no interest in being a father or raising children, but she’s threatening to come after me for child support. Is there anything I can do to stop her?
A: The short answer to your question is no, there’s nothing you can do to stop her. Society’s reaction to any man who gets a woman pregnant—even if he was lied to about her intentions—is basically, “Tough #$!%, buddy, if you didn’t want kids, you should have used a condom or had a vasectomy.” The legal system’s reaction is pretty much the same: If you and your girlfriend break up (and I can’t imagine how you could possibly stay together after such a major breach of trust), and she chooses to keep the baby, you’re on the hook for 18 years of child support for a child you never wanted. Plus, as an added bonus, you’ll be forced to have an ongoing relationship with a woman you’d probably just as soon never hear from again.
Bottom line: She can do whatever she wants and you have no say in it at all.
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