What rights do I have as an unwed mother and why?

You have he right to request the court grant you custody of child and child support from the father.

Just so you know, 'lawyer' and 'attorney' nowadays mean much the same thing. A lawyer is a person admitted to practice law in your jurisdiction. An attorney, broadly speaking, means an agent, somehow who acts for you. Such a person is usually a lawyer, but there are other occasions (like in a 'power of attorney,') when your agent need not be a lawyer. That said, IF there is no paternity judgment or order in place, then you have custody and legal placement of the child. If you were to commence a paternity action, the child's father whom you apparently don't much like anymore would be assigned an obligation of child support, but could demand at least some placement. You will have to decide how much you are willing to risk. Hiring a good lawyer in a court matter, or deciding whether or not to start a court matter, is almost always a good idea. Good Luck.

Well, you might want to make a formal petition for sole custody. You have a right to child support. You should also consider getting an order of protection if you feel you and/or your child are in danger. These an attorney can help you to facilitate, a family law attorney.

You probably need to report his abuse to your police/sheriff and get him prosecuted and into domestic violence recovery and an appropriate protective order. You should open a case with your County Dept. of Child Support Services to free of charge pursue a judgment of parentage, rudimentary parenting orders, and child support.

You have the same rights as any biological mother of a child. Until or unless a court tells you different, you have the right to make any and all decisions about and for your child.