24/10/2026
For many LGBTQ+ people, the question is not simply whether they want children — but whether they are given the information, healthcare and options needed to make that choice. 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️🇯🇵
A recent discussion in Japan is calling for fertility and family-planning support to become more inclusive of LGBTQ+ people.
On September 20, 2026, researcher Ai Inui of the NLI Research Institute published an article examining LGBTQ+ people and preconception care.
Preconception care is often associated with preparing for pregnancy. But the article argues that it should be understood more broadly: as a way for people to learn about their bodies, reproductive health, fertility and future family options before making major life or medical decisions.
For LGBTQ+ people, this can be especially important.
Some may want biological children in the future, while others may not. Their options can also vary depending on their sexual orientation, gender identity, medical treatment and family structure.
For example, some transgender people may undergo gender-affirming hormone therapy that can affect fertility.
That means access to information about fertility changes and options such as egg or s***m preservation can become important before treatment begins.
The issue is not only medical.
LGBTQ+ people may also face barriers such as discrimination, lack of knowledgeable healthcare providers, difficulty discussing their relationships, or assumptions that they do not want children.
The article argues that healthcare should not assume everyone is heterosexual, cisgender, married, or planning a traditional family.
Instead, LGBTQ+ people should be able to access the same basic thing everyone deserves:
the freedom to decide whether, when and how they want to have children.
So perhaps the real question is not whether LGBTQ+ couples should be able to have children.
It is whether they are being given equal access to the information, healthcare and choices needed to build the family they want. 🌈🤍
What do you think? Should fertility and family-planning services in Japan become more LGBTQ+ inclusive? Let us know in the comments.
Source: NLI Research Institute / TBS CROSS DIG with Bloomberg
