Let’s say there’s a couple, married, and the husband has made it clear he doesn’t want kids. They agree that the wife will stay on birth control. But one day, she decides she wants a baby and stops taking her pills without telling him. They keep having sex, and eventually, she gets pregnant and tells him she hadn’t been on birth control.
Could this be considered a kind of assault because he thought she was on the pill? Or would this just be a really messed up thing to do?
There’s actually a legal case in Canada, R. v. Hutchinson, that kind of addresses this. In short, the Canadian courts ruled that this wouldn’t be sexual assault. The court looked at the issue of consent in cases where conditions like birth control weren’t followed and decided that, under Canadian law, consent to the sexual act itself wasn’t removed due to a birth control deception. The situation would only cross into assault if it involved tampering, like sabotaging a condom.
In that case, the court convicted the partner because he tampered with the condom, which violated consent.
Here’s some info on stealthing (Spotlight on Stealthing > JAG Reporter > Article View Post). It’s considered a crime in some places.
Ali said:
Here’s some info on stealthing (Spotlight on Stealthing > JAG Reporter > Article View Post). It’s considered a crime in some places.
Stealthing usually means taking off a condom during sex without telling the other person. I don’t think any country has made it a crime to lie about birth control. Plus, condoms are also for STD protection, so there’s extra risk involved.
Ali said:
Here’s some info on stealthing (Spotlight on Stealthing > JAG Reporter > Article View Post). It’s considered a crime in some places.
Which areas make it a crime?
Honestly, sounds like plain dishonesty.
The husband would still be responsible for child support.
Imagine if the roles were reversed and a guy promised to wear a condom but didn’t. In some places, that’s actually illegal.
No, it wouldn’t count legally as assault, especially since they’re married. Even birth control isn’t a guarantee. If he feels betrayed, he can consider divorce, but he’d still be on the hook for child support. And yeah, this does seem like a tough situation, but maybe it’s a chance to try and see the positive side of it.
Congratulations on becoming a parent!
@Galen
You’re probably right about there being no legal grounds, but people shouldn’t be tricked like this. It’s a huge betrayal, and if it happened to me, I’d be filing for divorce. Can’t imagine you’d say the same thing if it were the husband poking holes in condoms.
@Galen
What does keeping a family name going have to do with anything here?
@Galen
Thanks for the reply! Just to clarify, this was a hypothetical situation, not something I’m in myself. But what if the people involved weren’t married, just dating or hooking up?
@Galen
You’re right on the main points, but being married doesn’t make the betrayal any less serious.