Charlie, only you, your preganant girlfriend, and your respective parents know the reality of your and her prospects to be able to quickly pull things together well and provide a stable, prosperous family for your child -- OR whether you can see your way clear to definitely offer your child a stable, prosperous future through adoption.

Adoption would give your child opportunities you can only dream of now: Freedom from public schools and exposure to the hideous welfare system. A mature, stable married couple who are wholehearted committed to being parents.

The welfare system grinds down the will and destroys the soul of all involved. Public schools destroy the soul. Through over a decade as a social worker I know exactly what it does to people.

Adoption, on the other hand, rises above. It lifts the souls of all involved. The child is freed from the meatgrinder of welfare involvement. The child can go to good schools, and has opportunities in life.

You and your girlfriend can continue in the natural course of youth, that is making your way upwards. You and she can plan productive futures and make your way towards them while enjoying your youth.

Please look into, discuss, and consider adopting the child out into a stable family that is ready to provide for the child. There are countless options, including open adoption where you are the adoptive parents remain in contact, and the child grows up knowing that he or she was adopted out through love and hope, with the child's best interest at heart.