The cabinet wants payment from prospective parents to a surrogate mother to become a criminal offence. If they are guilty of this, the prospective parents risk two years in prison, surrogate mothers can receive a maximum of six months in prison. parents can be fined a maximum of 22,500 euros, surrogate mothers a maximum of 9,000 euros. This is evident from a bill submitted by Minister Franc Weerwind (Legal Protection, D66) on Friday. A reimbursement of a maximum of 190 euros per month, for maternity clothes, among other things, is still allowed. The House of Representatives and the Senate still have to approve the bill.
The new law should also ensure that the current long and uncertain procedures for prospective parents are a thing of the past. They often do not formally become parents until a year after the birth of the child. Weerwind wants a judge to be able to decide before the pregnancy that the intended parents are the legal parents from birth. The law also means that there will be a register containing information about the surrogacy procedure followed. In this way, the child can later view information about the agreements made between the surrogate mother and the prospective parents.
The law must also apply to prospective parents who follow a surrogacy program abroad. If they meet comparable conditions that apply in the Netherlands, parenthood can be recognized immediately. In addition to the mandatory court ruling on the surrogacy, one condition is that the child must have a genetic link with at least one of the intended parents. The parents must also have been informed.