We must defend - ardently, passionately, implacably - the right of parents to decide, in whatever circumstances they find themselves

It felt like a cliche out of a medical drama. We huddled together in the ultrasound room, marvelling at the shadow of our baby moving on the screen in the darkness; behind us, the technician quietly left the room “just to check some numbers”. The wait stretched out; five, 10 minutes. When she finally returned, a more senior doctor in tow, we knew something was horribly wrong.

Several sleepless nights and tear-filled days later, we had our diagnosis. Our daughter had a genetic syndrome - not inherited from either of us but a completely random genetic error that occurred during cell division - that put her chance of living until birth at something close to 1%. Even if she were safely born, she could never have children of her own without drastic intervention and would require medical care throughout her life - care we could not afford to provide.