A man attempted to sue his wife of five years for "violating his reproductive rights" after she had an abortion without his consent, Voc.com.cn reports.

Liu Gang, 34, divorced his wife and demanded 30,000 yuan in psychological compensation after his partner Li Fenfen, 31, terminated her pregnancy in favor of a job promotion.

In court in Hengyang city, Central China's Hunan province, Liu questioned his wife with indignation, "the child belongs to two persons, how can you abort it behind my back?"

Li told the court she did consult her husband on the abortion but was met with a flat refusal as he was eager to have a child and said adamantly that the unborn child should come before his wife’s career development.

Li said, "I am already 31 years old now, and I just wanted to grab the valuable promotion opportunity because I can have a child later, but once I miss the career development opportunity, it would be gone forever."

After several rounds of futile mediation, the couple was granted a divorce. But Liu's demand for psychological compensation was thrown out by the judge as China's marriage law stipulates that wives own the right to terminate a pregnancy.

But the judge advised women should take their husband's feelings into consideration when making a decision about abortion.

The names were changed in the original report.