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A man's lawsuit against his wife for eschewing having children recently triggered public attention on China's social media. The court that was dealing with the case in Southwest China's Chongqinq Municipality rejected the lawsuit, reported The Paper on Monday.

The wife, surnamed Wang, who has a kid from her first marriage, had done sterilization operation before she married the man, surnamed Li, in 2008. Li and Li's family asked Wang multiple times to restore her fertility through surgery, but Wang refused. 

With a belief that it is Wang's fault that led him to be unable to have his own children, Li finally sued Wang for "causing him serious mental injury," and asked Wang to pay 150,000 yuan ($23,500) for mental distress. 

The suit was rejected by Chongqing Tongnan District People's Court. 

Having children is not an inevitable result of marriage and women are not reproductive tools, the court said, adding that citizens had the right to give birth as well as the freedom not to.