ONLY the stoniest heart will have remained unmoved by Natallie Evans's tears as she came to terms with a court decision not to allow her to use the frozen embryos that provided a chance of motherhood.
Here is a woman, we saw, with an overwhelming maternal instinct yet unable to bear a child because of the cancer treatment she had received. And we shared a little of her pain.
But the answer to this terrible dilemma cannot be dictated by emotion alone.
The European court was correct to take into consideration the rights of her former partner Howard Johnston.
He would have been the biological father of any child created by use of one of the frozen embryos and has made clear that he does not want to take on the mantle of parenthood in this manner.
It will be no comfort to Natallie that advances in technology mean that eggs, rather than embryos, can now be frozen so such conflicts can be avoided in the future.
But we hope that she can become a mum through the use of donated eggs or perhaps through adoption.
A woman with so much love to share will surely find a way of realising her dream.