text: My understanding is he can't legally give up his parental rights unless a Judge approves it in court.  This is because it's your baby's legal right to have access to both a father and a mother.  Even if the man doesn't want to be a father, your baby has legal rights.  For instance, child support.  Also, if something happened to the dad, and he died say in an accident that wasn't his fault, and his estate received a monetary settlement, your child would be legally entitled to share in that settlement   So, unless another man is willing to step in and adopt your baby and be your baby's legal father, a court will NOT take away the biological father's parental rights UNLESS he's determined by the court to legally be an unfit parent.  In other words, it's not your or his decision, but rather the court's decision, with the court's interest being what's in the best interest of the child.