In brief
Jens Spahn, former health minister and key CDU figure, resigned as parliamentary group leader after revealing he used a U.S. surrogate to have a child with his husband. His exit highlights Germany’s strict domestic ban on surrogacy and the political fallout when elected officials violate the very rules they champion. The move comes amid struggling polls for the party and a looming regional election where far‑right forces could gain a historic majority. Critics say his actions double‑standarded against his own policy positions, stirring debate across Europe where surrogacy laws are tightening.
Jens Spahn resigns from CDU parliamentary leadership amid surrogate‑mother debate
German centre‑right MP and former health minister Jens Spahn announced on Saturday that he would step down as chair of the Christian Democratic Union’s (CDU) parliamentary group after criticism over his private use of a surrogate mother in the United States to father a child with his husband.
The move follows an earlier revelation that the 46‑year‑old had become a father this week in a surrogacy arrangement abroad – an option legal in Germany when the pregnancy occurs outside the country, even though domestic surrogacy is banned and punishable by up to three years in prison.
Spahn, a key figure in the ruling coalition and a potential future chancellor, said he had realised his personal pursuit of parenthood was no longer compatible with “the expectations placed on me as Chairman of our parliamentary group.” Chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomed the resignation as “right” and “inevitable,” stressing the importance of credibility.
The controversy arrives at a time when the CDU is already struggling in the polls and faces an on‑coming regional election in East Germany where the far‑right Alternative für Deutschland party could win a majority – a shock vote for the first time since World War II.
Other German politicians, as well as commentators across Europe, have criticised the double standard, noting that politicians who campaigned against legalising surrogacy have now benefitted from it. The debate also highlights a widening divide over family policy as Italy and France tighten their own surrogacy bans.
