Why do people feel they HAVE to get married if they get pregnant?

I have no idea why. My family was trying to get me to marry my ex when I got pregnant. Obviously it didnt work lol and I knew it wouldnt. I would have regretted it if I had taken their advice.

If the guy isn't good enough to marry, he probably isn't good enough to make a baby with. Think about it. The woman thinks the guy is an asshole, so she leaves. But guess what? Your baby still has to visit the asshole. I think people should really be careful as with whom they procreate. You will be stuck with that person married or not forever. At least with marriage, your child is deemed legitimate in the eyes of society, you get a nice tax exemption, you all have the same name, you are legally protected, etc. I am not saying everyone has to get married. I am saying that there are indeed many reasons why it might be a good idea.

hey goldilocks. my daughter was concieved from a rape. and no she doesn't have to see him..so what do think about that? there is no way in HELL i would marry and asshole like that..and as for all the other situations, don't you think it would be harder for the child to go threw a divorce or see their parents unhappy, then not at all??

i doubt goldilocks was refering to the situations you are talking about. please. and I agree with her statements.

I have not married the father of my child yet but we have talked about and we have lived together for 4 yrs., but in my opinion I feel we need more time to be with eachother before we rush into something that could end in a month. I did not marry and would not marry because I had a child with someone I would marry if I knew he was the 1.

That's one reason my boyfriend and I are NOT getting married right away just because I'm pregnant. EVERYONE in my family has pressured us to get married because it's the "biblical" thing to do, and God will consider our daughter a "bastard child" because she was born out of wedlock. WTF?! Who says something like that to somebody?! It's not like I went out and screwed a random guy and got knocked up. My boyfriend and I had been together for a very happy year when I conceived. Pisses me off. GETTING MARRIED BECAUSE OF A BABY IS NOT A GOOD REASON TO GET MARRIED! We want to get married one day because we love each other. Our daughter isn't going to give a flying shit either way.

I have been with the same guy for 5 years, we are NOT married. We have lived together since we met, & now have a beautiful baby together. Yes one day we WILL get married, but everyone tried telling us that we must get married bc I was pregnant. Like i said they don't know why wecan't at this point and I'd really rather not go into deatil now. Our baby is happy, we are happy and ONE day we will get married but until then we will live our life just as we have been. Just because you get pregnant does not mean you should rush a wedding and get married.

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For me growing up with unhappy parents who refuse to divorce because of whatever reason was much harder for me(and still is) than had I lived with 2 people who were happy & not married. There is no way in hell i owuld put my child through what I went through growing up bc I got married to his father (and say I was unhappy) People are just old timey and think that it's the "right thing to do"

Not everybody does feel that way, but those who do probably do for security's sake.

I had some one tell me along time ago to never get married simply because of a baby. That was probably one of the best pieces of advice I have got. Of the several friends I have that got married because they got pregnant, I only know one who is happy in their marriage, but they were planning on getting married before she got pregnant. Kids need parents that are happy and healthy. They would rather them be apart and happy then together and miserable. My BIL and his GF had a baby very young....they are stil very young...any way. My IL's pastor said they needed to get married...they were 15.