Blogging Baby reports today on some new statistics about lesbian and gay couples in the Netherlands. The number of such couples either married or in a registered partnership is on the rise, although they comprise just over 1% of all cohabiting couples in the country. While about 9% of such couples have children, this represents 18% of lesbian couples and only 1% of gay male couples. The lesbian majority isn’t so surprising, I suppose, given the (relative) ease of conception (even with a sperm donor) vs. adoption or surrogacy, but I wouldn’t have expected quite so large a gap. At least gay male couples in the Netherlands are allowed to adopt children, which is more than gay or lesbian couples can do in many U. S. states.
Of course, the same people who say same-sex couples shouldn’t have marriage rights because the purpose of marriage is to raise children are the same people who say we shouldn’t raise children. That’s like saying “You can have dessert if you finish your vegetables, but I’m not going to let you have any vegetables.” A different solution, of course, is for any married couple, gay, lesbian, or straight, that hasn’t had children after, say, five years, to have their marriage automatically dissolved. Sigh. Think I’ll go buy some tulips and pretend I’m in Amsterdam.