Parliament wants legal limit on private sperm donation studied

The Tweede Kamer passed a motion with broad support calling on Hermans to investigate whether a legal limit can be set on mass donation in private. Only the SGP did not vote in favour. André Poortman (CDA) tabled it with coalition partners VVD and D66.

Since 1 April last year, data on prospective mothers and donors from all clinics have been linked in the national register. A donor can be used for no more than twelve families through a clinic. Private donations, for example through online forums, fall outside the law and out of sight of the government and clinics, Hermans wrote to parliament at the end of September.

"We want the interests of donor children to be put first more in the discussion about mass donors," Poortman said. He called the research a first step but said it cannot stop there. He suggested registering private donations, which he said would give vulnerable prospective parents more to go on.

In a debate two weeks ago, Hermans said she wants to look again at what is possible. She tempered expectations: "I also want to tell the honest story, which is that it is difficult to intervene in that private sphere."

Lisa Vliegenthart (Pro) said a study does not go far enough. "Instead of yet another study, it is really time for action," she said. She wants the minister to bring in a bill immediately that takes account of reproductive freedom and the privacy of intended parents.

A majority in the Kamer also backs a motion for a national support route for donor children and parents, with a fixed point of contact and suitable psychosocial support.