This story was revealed through an SBS ‘Morning Wide’ broadcast on the 26th. According to the report, the husband, diagnosed with a rare liver disease and given a terminal prognosis of one year, asked his wife, who was deemed a suitable donor, to donate part of her liver.
The husband who filed for divorce after his wife refused to donate part of her liver lost his lawsuit. The court ruled, “Organ donation falls under the realm of high-level self-determination over one’s body,” and stated that the refusal alone cannot be grounds for holding the wife responsible for the breakdown of the marriage.
The wife refused the donation, citing her struggle with a phobia of sharp objects. This phobia involves extreme fear and terror when sharp objects such as scissors, needles, pencils, or knives enter the field of vision. The wife explained, “I’m terrified even at the sight of a syringe, let alone imagining a sharp surgical scalpel. I couldn’t possibly lie on an operating table.”
Although she refused the liver donation, the wife devoted herself to caring for her husband’s illness. However, the husband viewed her nursing as hypocrisy and continued to hurl abusive remarks, saying, “What’s the use of nursing me?” The husband’s family also joined in, claiming, “The daughter-in-law is trying to watch her husband die.”
As the conflict reached its peak, a brain-dead donor miraculously appeared, allowing the husband to undergo surgery and regain his health. However, his resentment toward his wife for not donating her liver persisted. After an investigation, he discovered that her phobia was a lie. When confronted, the wife admitted, “It was a lie,” but explained, “I was genuinely scared. But I was so terrified. What would happen to our young daughters if something went wrong during the surgery?”
The husband, enraged by her explanation, asked, “Did you not care whether I lived or died?” and eventually filed for divorce.
However, the court ruled that the wife’s refusal to donate her liver did not constitute grounds for divorce. The judges stated, “Organ donation is an area of high-level self-determination over one’s body,” and added, “The refusal alone cannot be held responsible for the breakdown of the marriage.” They also noted, “As a guardian responsible for raising young children, she likely had realistic fears and concerns about her own health deteriorating.”
The marital conflict remained unresolved after the first trial, and the couple eventually agreed to divorce. In the second trial, the court focused on determining who was primarily responsible for the breakdown of the marriage.
The second trial court also sided with the wife. The court found that the fundamental cause of the marital breakdown was not the wife’s refusal to donate or her lie, but the husband’s verbal abuse and coercion. The judges stated, “The husband, who coerced his wife into donating an organ, blamed her for her refusal, and damaged the trust between the couple, bears full responsibility for the breakdown of the marriage.”
Read more Court Rejects Divorce Bid Over Organ Donation Refusal
