Dutch papers give front-page coverage to Jetten’s baby news

Dutch newspapers gave prominent coverage on Tuesday to the news that Prime Minister Rob Jetten and his partner, Argentine hockey player Nicolás Keenan, are expecting a child via a surrogate, according to a report by news agency ANP published by Nieuws.nl. [1]

The AD led with “Roze wolk” (“Pink cloud”), alongside a large photograph of Jetten, Keenan and their surrogate. De Telegraaf’s front page said the prime minister would become a father through surrogacy. Het Parool described the news as political as well as personal, while NRC called Jetten, as far as it knew, the first openly LGBT head of government to be expecting a child via a surrogate.

The coverage also drew attention to the legal framework for surrogacy in the Netherlands. De Telegraaf quoted a father of twins born through surrogacy who said that “almost nothing is arranged” for intended parents in the country, and suggested Jetten’s news could help bring the issue onto the political agenda. The Nederlands Dagblad linked the announcement to a parliamentary debate planned for later this year on a surrogacy bill that has faced criticism. [1]

The Volkskrant said Jetten would, as far as was known, be the first Dutch prime minister to have a child while in office.