Gay couples with a desire to have children, can stay in The Netherlands

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Today, it was announced as big news , as of 2019, gay couples can go to two IVF clinics in the Netherlands to let them fulfill their desire for children. What a great news! Because of this, gay’s don’t have to go abroad for an IVF surrogacy treatment!

What does this mean?

A big Dutch newspaper headlines: “Gay couples with a desire to have children now also can go to  the Netherlands”.

Well… this is slightly more complicated. Because of these developments it is possible for gay couples to, If they have “found” a surrogate  and an egg donor to have an IVF surrogacy treatment carried out in the Netherlands.  For example, these treatments were already carried out in Belgium.

However, the difficulty is in finding a surrogate. In The Netherlands it is not allowed to publicly search for a surrogate. Without a surrogate, it is not possible to bring a child into the world.

What is the problem?

In the lucky case, when there is a surrogate  who wants to help out, it is legally complicated for intended parents to get authority over the child. The surrogate is always the legal mother. If the surrogate is married, her husband is automatically the legal father. If the surrogate don’t want to give up the child or if aconflict arises between the surrogate and the intended parents. With the current legislation the mother (almost) always is legally right. So as intended parents, you don’t have any rights (even if the child is genetically linked).

What is needed?

In the United States and Canada, surrogacy is regulated, the intended parents do have rights.  In Mexico, this is not specifically regulated, but you can publically search for a surrogate.

First of all, to make a real difference for gay couples, it is necessary to adjust the law. However, as long as there are Christian parties in the government, I think these laws won’t be adjusted in the short-term.

Therefore we will continue to orientate ourselves to surrogacy abroad in order to fulfil our desire for children.