With Pat Robertson’s passing today, it reminded me of a 2011 story when he said on the “700 Club” that divorcing a spouse with Alzheimer’s disease was justified.
Robertson, then the Chairman of the Christian Broadcasting Network and former Republican presidential candidate, said he wouldn’t “put a guilt trip” on someone for divorcing a spouse with Alzheimer’s disease, calling Alzheimer’s itself “a kind of death.”
The remarks sparked outrage throughout religious and medical communities. Even divorce lawyers were a little taken back because we’ve all had our share of clients that wanted the divorce because caring for the ill spouse just got to be too much.
Robertson’s blessing that it’s OK to divorce our spouse if circumstances become very different or inconvenient was odd to say the least back then, especially from a Christian viewpoint. But, it does happen in many circumstances.
I have seen both sides of this type of a divorce case. I’ve assisted spouses that simply could no longer handle the care and obligations of having an ill spouse, and I’ve assisted people with illnesses that were feeling abandoned by their healthy spouse.
Often times, there are ways to fix the relationship, but sometimes not. If you find yourself needing to talk to someone about a divorce process and what may be involved when one spouse is very ill, feel free to call Paul Nordini at (630) 416-6600.
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