Other reports have similarly identified the ethical principles that informed their deliberations. There has been little debate about the ethical principles, but there has been debate concerning which policies appropriately emerge from these principles. Consideration of issues in AHR represents the interplay of policy, law and ethics and this of course is reflected in discussion of the best interests of the child. The reason that a couple or individual use AHR treatment is to conceive and give birth to a child. The child is therefore the end result of the treatment.
Decision making leading up to the treatment is, however, a matter for the adult parties involved.
It needs to be acknowledged that at the policy and ethical levels such phrases and notions have considerable appeal, but at the treatment level, it is often difficult for the adult parties to see beyond their own needs and interests. After all, there is no guarantee that a child will result from the intervention, so considering their best interests is very difficult. It may also seem to prospective parents and some professionals, that putting in place procedures to safeguard the welfare of a future child is obstructionist and an unnecessary imposition - after all others deciding to have a child are not subjected to some of the psychosocial assessments or investigations that they are. One of the difficulties that this area highlights is lack of agreement on what either the phrases mean or encompass. Even without the benefit of hindsight such difficulties might have been anticipated given the lack of consensus about the meaning of the welfare of the child as it relates to assisted conception.