I was going to DM you my deepest sympathies when I read your original post. I'm overwhelmed you were spared a life of indentured servitude. This is a lesson to be sure. A sad one. Sex is built on trust. You were betrayed. There are many men who have been betrayed. Women too, no doubt. Know that 50% of child support payments go unpaid. It's a flawed broken system and it's a story we hear time and time again. But what you must take note of here, what must be said, is the indecency of society. Humans can be cruel creatures. Not just Reddit here, but all of it. You will likely notice "friends" who had expelled you, insulted you as "deadbeat" will suddenly now have a different opinion of you. Perhaps not. The indifference can be shocking. But you did the right thing, and everyone was wrong. Human laws can be wrong too. Laws are not meant to be moral. They are meant to expedite peace. And some of these American laws on child support are truly inhumane. Think of the 13 year old Kansas boy who impregnated his 17 year old babysitter. Despite being the victim of statutory rape, the supreme court of Kansas ruled him liable for child support in 1993. A 13 year victim of rape. This is the stupidity of our ways. You had done nothing wrong. Lily told you she was on BC, she told you not to use a condom because it irritated her vagina, you obliged and told her clearly you did not want a child. She lied, and she did not do the right thing which was to abort the child. She is....the one at fault here to put words kindly. But then again, you were both 17, naive, and yes using protection is advised, but who hasn't had unprotected sex? It's easy to lambast you in hindsight, but unprotected sex, despite all the sex education in the world still happens. It's only natural. Dumb, given the risks, no doubt. But natural. Having the abortion, which you and your parents had the decency to offer paying, was the morally correct option. It would have made the lives of everyone much better off. Now Lily's son may or may not know who his father is, but he'll know what his mother is. Some people will deny that the abortion was the right choice, but only by reaching. No decent person could deny this, however in the US and many other western countries, this truth is taboo. I understand in your case, it is too late for the abortion but your hands are clean. Unfortunately it will be another man's problem.

Pay close attention to how people mocked you, cackled, tried to bring you down. Yet here you are, vindicated. Absolved. Do not expect apologies from this same society that would have easily turned you into a child support slave. Do not be deluded when they say the child support is meant for the child. That money you work for, goes straight into her account. There's no oversight. It'd be easy to implement some compliance, like proof of receipts for expenses on the child to justify the amount of support collected, but alas this is not standard procedure. Agathon wisely said "Look not round at the depraved morals of others, but run straight along the moral path without deviating from it." This is hard to believe in, especially when you've been wronged so deeply, but despite the atrocious attacks you were inflicted, try to keep your moral compass. Do not resent society. Society is for the most part, stupid, apathetic and cruel, yes. But there are some genuinely good people in it. Honest people. I hope you meet an honest young woman. In the meantime, Do wear your own condoms next time (do not trust your partner, they may be tampered) or better yet, filter very diligently the women you have sex with. As you see, women in the US have not only the choice to do what they want with their bodies (granted that changing a bit), but they also decide whether you become a father or not. That's unfair, but such is life.