New proposals concerning surrogacy in the Netherlands could mean up to four “parents” would have legal rights to one child.

The Country’s ruling coalition parties have proposed that the government should provide certain protections in gestational surrogacy arrangements and, separately, should provide some recognition of rights for non-biological parents, leading to a multiplicity of “parents”.

The Netherlands wouldn’t be the first governmental entity to recognize certain parental rights for up to four people. For instance, Ontario, Canada, passed a parentage law in 2016 that allows for up to four parents to a child. And based on one reading of recent New York State case law, the Empire State arguably permits up to six parents to a single child. The proposed legal changes in the Netherlands are intended to address current problems whereby step-parents, foster parents, and other non-biologically related persons acting as parents, nevertheless have no rights to a child.