Must an unmarried pregnant woman marry the baby's father?

[VACatholicMom]

Occasionally a distant friend or family member will find themselves in this awkward situation: The girlfriend is pregnant, the couple had no plans to marry, and the parents of both partners are insistent that a wedding takes place so the baby can be raised properly. Is this a requirement of the Catholic Church?

I know at least two single mothers who made a conscious decision not to marry the baby’s father because during the pregnancy he revealed himself to be an unfit father and husband. In one situation, the father had tried to convince the pregnant woman to have an abortion. Could you clear this up for me?

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

No, the Church does not require an unwed mother to marry her child’s father. Marriage must be entered into freely and willingly by the respective parties, so much so that coercion can nullify marital consent.

That said, your acquaintances’ concern that “the baby … be raised properly” is a valid one. If a woman feels she cannot marry her child’s father, she should seriously consider giving the child up for adoption to an established married couple who can give the child the traditional family he or she deserves. Adoption isn’t required either, but it can be meritorious for someone who cannot herself (or himself) give a child the family he needs and deserves to give the child to a married couple who can. To sacrifice one’s own desires for the greater good of one’s dependent child is part of the vocation of parenthood.