By announcing that he and his fiancé are expecting a child, the Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten highlights a model of gestational surrogacy that is markedly different from that practiced, for example, in certain American states. In the Netherlands, the practice is open to male couples but strictly regulated to prevent any commodification.
The Dutch Prime Minister’s family is expected to grow in the spring of 2027. Rob Jetten and his fiancé, Nicolás S. Keenan, announced they are expecting a child through gestational surrogacy (GS). “There are not enough words to thank our egg donor, as well as Lisa, who carried our child, and their respective families”, the couple wrote in an Instagram post on Monday, October 19. Aware of the debates surrounding GS, the 39-year-old prime minister took care to publish the same day a press release, translated into English and distributed by his political party, the social-liberal D66, detailing the conditions under which their parental project is conducted. “The whole process took place in the Netherlands and complies with all the conditions of the law. It is not a case of commercial surrogacy as it exists abroad”, he insists.
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Unlike France, where it is explicitly prohibited by Article 16-7 of the Civil Code, which nullifies any gestational surrogacy agreement, the practice is authorized in the Netherlands. The first gestational surrogacy via in vitro fertilization was carried out in 1997 to address cases of female infertility, reports the National Information Center on Gestational Surrogacy. At the time, only couples able to use their own gametes had access to this practice, particularly when the woman could not carry a pregnancy, for example after removal of the uterus. Male couples were therefore excluded.
Gestational surrogacy open to gay couples
In 2016, the Dutch Society of Gynecologists-Obstetricians opened the path for gestational surrogacy for male couples. In the Netherlands, this openness does not require new law: the practice is already allowed, and it is the medical rules that determine which couples can access it. “The use of gestational surrogacy is indicated when a male homosexual couple cannot conceive a child”, writes the physicians’ organization in its bioethics recommendations.
Two years later, a new regulation on the use of embryos made this evolution concrete: clinics now announce they welcome couples needing an egg donation, notably male couples. One condition remains: residing in the Netherlands, in order to foster ties with the surrogate mother. Despite this openness, GS remains little spread in the Netherlands. “The exact frequency of use of gestational surrogacy (estimated at about 150 annually). Professionals’ reports indicate a practice in full expansion”, noted the Ministry of Justice in 2023.
A non-commercial model
In some countries, like the United States, GS rests on a commercial model: surrogate mothers are remunerated and specialized agencies organize the matchmaking with would-be parents. The Netherlands has chosen another path, that of an altruistic GS, which excludes any remuneration for the surrogate mother. The Dutch Penal Code thus forbids commercial intermediaries, but also “advertising via a website to stimulate the supply and demand of gestational surrogacy”.
Thus, intended parents must find a surrogate within their circle. The Dutch government’s website indeed specifies that it is also prohibited “to publicly indicate, as an intended parent, that you are seeking a surrogate mother. For example, via social networks”. Rob Jetten thus states that he is a longtime friend with Lisa, the woman carrying the child for his couple, whose statement declares that she “considers it a privilege to help Rob Jetten and Nikolas Kennen realize their dream of having a child”.
Finally, couples cannot remunerate the surrogate. However, they are allowed to “cover the costs and expenses related to the surrogate mother”. For example, travel expenses, insurance, legal or psychological support, or unreimbursed medical care. In the case of egg donation, health costs may “vary from 15,000 to 30,000 euros, depending on the clinic and the type of treatment”, the National Information Center on Gestational Surrogacy notes.
Filiation Bill
The question of parentage remains. In the absence of specific legislation for children born of gestational surrogacy, intended parents are not automatically recognized as the legal parents of the child at birth. It is the birth mother who is legally considered the mother, even when she has no genetic link to the child. Establishing the parentage of intended parents thus requires judicial steps, the duration of which varies by situation. “Plan for a delay of at least 18 months to 2 years after the child’s birth”, warns the Center.
To secure the parentage of children, the center-right government of Mark Rutte filed a bill in Parliament in June 2023. The text, resulting from a coalition negotiation, notes that legal uncertainty “can threaten the development of the child’s identity”, but also undermine the surrogate mother if “the intended parents withdraw from the process”. And it notes that “conversely, the intended parents face a similar risk”. The bill also aims to clarify the expenses that can be covered by the future parents. It notably contemplates the possibility of a lump-sum indemnity, the amount of which, discussed around 200 euros per month, could be fixed by decree and paid without requiring expense justification.
Alongside this legal framework, the Netherlands has developed an information and support system for families. Created in 2021 with state financial support, the National Information Center on Gestational Surrogacy brings together family associations, health professionals, and lawyers, without government representatives. Its goal: to provide reliable and independent information to both prospective parents and surrogate mothers, without commercial interests. Other associations complement this system. The Durf Foundation relies on a network of lawyers, notaries, and professionals in psychosocial support to advise prospective parents, surrogate mothers, and children. The Surrogacy Foundation, for its part, promotes exchanges of experiences among people involved in a gestational surrogacy project. All these organizations reflect the Dutch will to support an authorized practice without turning it into a market.
