I admit I'm not very knowledgeable. And sometimes the knee-jerk reactions are not based on logic or good information. However, you could have turned the story into another sob tale about someone with a miserable life (I started two stories today and quickly stopped reading because of it. For lack of a better way of expressing it, you handled it in an adult way. I read for pleasure and prefer lighter stuff like what I write. Obstacles are acceptable, but I prefer when characters face them and somehow overcome them. Those people, my characters for the most part, are not the only ones out there so I understand the attraction certain authors have for them.
In your case, you brought up a sensitive subject and dealt with it without the melodrama many would have incorporated. For that, I applaud you.