"In Sickness & in Health"

As Public Act No. 364 came across his desk for signing, Connecticut's Governor Abraham Ribicoff was reminded of the marriage vows and of the phrase, "in sickness and in health." The bill, as passed by the state legislature, would have permitted divorce from a spouse confined to a mental institution for a period of five years, even though there might be temporary interruptions in the confinement. Last week Democrat Ribicoff vetoed the bill.

"It is reliably estimated," he wrote in his veto message, "that one out of ten persons born in the year 1955 will spend some time during his life in a mental institution. This widespread incidence of mental illness makes it imperative that every safeguard be established to insure that those individuals who become mentally ill will continue to have the needed support of their families and loved ones . . . There could be instances where a husband or wife with a mild mental illness would develop a much more serious illness with the knowledge that their spouse was obtaining a divorce . . .

"When people marry, they realize that there are potential periods in their lives when illness or other misfortunes may come their way. The marriage vows, 'in sickness and in health,' should have meaning ... It would indeed be a terrible society where a person could toss aside a wife or husband because serious illness may come their way. Such a philosophy would be contrary to the teachings of all our great religions and a contradiction of the ethics of Western society. If a person should be so callous as to disregard such normal and humane considerations, the state should not lend encouragement to such callousness by allowing a divorce."

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