The welfare of the child: problems of indeterminacy and deontology.

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Abstract
Recent literature has addressed arguments about the importance of the `welfare of the child' principle (Blyth and Cameron, 1998; Golombok, 1998) in the assessment of the provision of assisted conception services. Two broad positions have emerged concerning the application of this principle: (i) the minimum welfare principle, and (ii) the maximum welfare principle. Pennings (1999) attempts to provide a commonsense resolution to this debate by proposing a `reasonable welfare principle' for the welfare of the child. Whilst, the attempt to move beyond the two present positions is welcomed, there are a number of significant problems with the arguments presented by Pennings (1999).