Ruling 2399 — Marriage

If a man realises after the conclusion of the marriage contract that his wife had one of the following six defects at the time of the marriage contract, he can annul the contract: 1. insanity, albeit intermittent; 2. leprosy; 3. vitiligo; 4. blindness; 5. paralysis, albeit not to the extent of immobility; 6. the presence of flesh or bone in her uterus, whether or not that prevents sexual intercourse or becoming pregnant, or the vagina itself being sufficiently closed so as to prevent sexual intercourse. If the man realises that at the time of the contract the woman had a cloacal abnormality, meaning that her urethral opening and vagina had become one [vesicovaginal fistula], or her vagina and anus had become one [rectovaginal fistula], or all three had become one [persistent cloaca], then for the man to be able to annul the marriage contract is problematic (maḥall al‑ishkāl) [i.e. based on obligatory precaution, he cannot annul it].[1] But in the event that he does annul it, the obligatory precaution is that he must also divorce her.