His story may be a highly exceptional one, but there are millions of less dramatic stories which share one element in common: parents who discover the meaning of unconditional love while changing nappies, mending scraped knees and spending sleepless nights waiting for a fever to break.

What are the options facing the Mehtas? They can curse their fate and seek extra-legal solutions or they can accept Mumbai’s Bishop Agnelo Garcias’ offer to take in the child if he is born with disabilities. On my part, however, I hope that the young couple will discover a third possibility: that quality-of-life can sometimes be delivered in unexpected ways. Not by getting the perfect child that every parent dreams of, but the imperfect one who helps them discover the strength and beauty of their own endurance.

The writer is an artist and playwright, she blogs at http://www.marginalien.blogspot.com