Yesterday, Prime Minister of the Netherlands Rob Jetten and his partner Nicolás Keenan announced the incoming arrival of their first child via surrogacy. It opens up a conversation about surrogacy in the Netherlands — and how Jetten wants to change it.
While Jetten’s announcement is certainly new (he will become the first LGBTQIA government leader to welcome a child via surrogacy), the discussion around amending surrogacy legislation is not.
So, what does the government want to change? Let’s talk about it.
Firstly, how does surrogacy currently work in the Netherlands?
In the Netherlands, commercial surrogacy is not possible. This means that potential parents cannot go online and scout a surrogate for themselves, nor can a woman advertise herself as offering surrogacy services.
Instead, potential surrogates must be found within the hopeful parents’ family or circle of friends.
This is indeed the case for Jetten and Keenan. Their surrogate, Lisa, is a friend of the couple. On the D66 website, she shares her own thoughts on her choice to be their surrogate:
“I grew up in a warm and loving environment and now have a fantastic family of my own. With the unconditional support of our loved ones, surrogacy feels like a very special way to contribute to making our dear friends’ dream come true.”
This is also the case for the egg donor, she is reportedly a friend of the couple.
Currently, in the Netherlands, once a surrogate gives birth, she automatically becomes the legal mother of the child. Legal authority and parenthood for the expecting couple must then be sorted in court after the birth, which can be quite a lengthy process.
It’s this aspect, that the cabinet wants to discuss.
What does the Jetten cabinet want to change?
It was previously announced that the cabinet wants to amend the current legislation around surrogacy in the Netherlands.
For one, they are considering making it possible for the expecting parents to become the legal parents before birth under certain conditions.
What are these conditions? All records surrounding the child’s ancestry must be preserved, and the parents and surrogate must attend information sessions about the impact of such a family formation.
READ MORE | Rob Jetten, the new Dutch PM, is young, gay, and engaged to an expat: does it matter?
Under this legislation, certainty for the child, expecting parents and surrogate mother takes precedence. However, it would also mean that the surrogate mother’s rights are more restricted than they are under the current law, Nu.nl reports.
For one, if the new law is passed and parenthood is established before the baby is born, the surrogate mother will have a three month reflection period to object to giving up the baby.
However, judges believe this reflection period should be longer “We believe there should be more scope for cases in which the surrogate mother, for example due to medical circumstances, cannot take action within that time.”
If a surrogate mother does changer her mind, then a judge must decide who has parental rights over the baby.
However, nothing has changed yet. The new legislation has yet to be passed, and will be debated in parliament later this year.
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