Man had wanted to dump his girlfriend
Girlfriend refused abortion unless married
"Nothing I could do but to marry her"
Duress has been established - judge
A MAN who claimed he was forced into marriage by his girlfriend after she promised she'd terminate her pregnancy has been granted a divorce after a judge found he'd been "under duress" when he agreed to wed her.
The unnamed couple were in an on-off relationship for six years from 2004, and lived together for six months in 2008.
In seeking a divorce after less than year of marriage, the man referred to a part in the Marriage Act that states the union "is void in circumstances where the consent of either (person) is not a consent freely given as it was obtained under duress."
The Family Court heard that last September, the man told his girlfriend he wanted to break up, only to be told by her that she was expecting his child.
The man said she told him: "I'm possibly not going to terminate the pregnancy unless you marry me."
"(I said) to her, 'I don't want to get married', and she replied, 'Well, I'm not terminating the pregnancy unless we get married'," he told the court.
The pair wed two months later, but the husband said: "I felt therefore there was nothing I could do but to marry her to ensure she undertook the termination."
His wife told him a short time later that she'd had the abortion, and the pair split up on Christmas Day.
The husband said neither he or his wife told their parents of their marriage.
The wife didn't give evidence at the court hearing.
"With some hesitation, I have concluded that duress has been established by the husband," Justice Peter Rose said in his decision.
