Monia, a Sicilian woman in her early forties, was overjoyed when she discovered in October 2022 she was expecting her first child. Her doctor, however, recommended a genetic test due to her age, and the result was one no parent wants to receive.

The fetus had a genetic syndrome. Monia, who declined to give her surname, asked her gynecologist what she could do.

"Nothing. You don't want to terminate, do you?" the doctor asked her, she said.