Pregnant Woman’s Mother-in-Law Urges Her to Have an Abortion after Finding Out Her Baby’s Gender

A heartwarming moment turned into a bewildering family crisis when a pregnant woman and her husband, who had longed for a child, joyfully shared the news of their impending parenthood with her mother-in-law. While initial excitement filled the air, the atmosphere took a chilling twist as the baby's gender was revealed, leading the MIL to make a shocking and insistent demand.

On December 6, 2017, an anonymous female Reddit user shared a post in the "Just No MIL" subreddit, providing some necessary context about her strained relationship with her mother-in-law (MIL) and significant other (SO), who hailed from a different cultural background from her.

Despite these cultural differences, the mother-in-law's actions were far from reasonable, as she believed her cultural background justified her behavior, especially since the woman was a foreigner living in "her" country.

Settling Down and Facing Difficulties

The backstory and context revealed that the original poster had moved to South Korea eight years prior for work, where she met her SO, and they had been together ever since. However, the MIL had never approved of their relationship due to OP being a foreigner.

This shocking request left the poster deeply upset, and the SO had to restrain her physically.

Before their marriage, the MIL consistently attempted to set up blind dates for her son and never missed the chance to humiliate her son's girlfriend. She deliberately spoke broken English when the woman tried to communicate with her in Korean, despite her proficiency in the language. After marrying, the woman thought things had improved, but the subsequent turn of events suggested otherwise.

"My SO and I had been trying to have a baby for a few months," explained the wife, adding how her MIL appeared excited about the prospect of becoming a grandmother for the first time, given that her husband was the golden child (GC).

"We were successful and I found out I was pregnant!" the woman shared. "Then it came time to find out the sex of the baby," recalled the woman, and that's when the story took a turn.

When they learned that the baby was going to be a girl, the MIL's demeanor drastically changed and she barely communicated with them for the rest of the day.

"SO and SIL were very happy and excited, as my SO said he had wanted a girl and I personally didn't care about the gender, but my MIL's face instantly fell," admitted OP.

MIL's Unusual Demand and OP's Reaction

A visit to the MIL later proved even more frustrating for the couple. "A few days later, my SO and I went to go visit her and she immediately sat us down and told me I had to have an abortion," recounted the woman.

This shocking request left the woman deeply upset, and her husband had to restrain her physically. Her MIL argued that the woman was unfit to raise a girl and that a boy would have been the ideal choice because her son would know how to raise him.

The mother-in-law went on to claim that having a half-Korean, half-American daughter would be embarrassing for her because she believed the child wouldn't be as beautiful as a full Korean child and would adopt "[Western] ideals" from her son's wife.

Furthermore, the MIL expressed a desire for complete control over raising the child if the woman chose not to have an abortion. She passionately insisted on this, even feigning tears and making her son hug her while claiming that an abortion would be in everyone's best interest. Still, if not, she was willing to sacrifice her "peaceful" life to ensure the baby's well-being.

The woman firmly rejected the idea of an abortion but hinted that she would reconsider the MIL's role in her baby's life. However, she had no intention of involving the mother-in-law in any way. Following that unpleasant visit to her MIL's house, the MIL left her son a voicemail complaining about his wife's behavior and implying that a native woman would have appreciated her advice more.

While the woman chose to cut off communication with her MIL entirely after her behavior, her husband continued to visit his mother. Meanwhile, the woman remained wary of the MIL's attempts to manipulate them, even when she seemingly expressed excitement about the impending grandchild by buying baby clothes.

What Does the Reddit Community Think?

The anonymous woman's story gained significant traction online, amassing supportive comments and words of encouragement from fellow Redditors. Here are a few comments worth mentioning:

What are your thoughts on this story? Who would you support, the woman or her mother-in-law? Do you have any advice to offer the woman, given her dilemma? If you liked reading this story, click here to read another one about a husband who told his pregnant wife that his mom came before her and went to his mother instead of helping her.