Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Jens Spahn, the parliamentary leader of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative Christian Democratic Union and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union, resigned on Saturday, July 18, 2026, following mounting pressure over his decision to have a child through a surrogate mother in the United States with his husband, Daniel Funke. The resignation marks a dramatic fall for one of Germany's most powerful politicians, who had previously defended the country's ban on surrogacy and whose party had recently reaffirmed its opposition to the practice at its February party conference.
Surrogacy is prohibited under German law, with the 1990 Embryo Protection Act punishing the practice with up to three years' imprisonment or a fine. While it is not illegal to bring up a child born to a surrogate mother abroad, the CDU has consistently opposed any relaxation of the ban. Spahn, who previously served as health minister under former Chancellor Angela Merkel, had personally rejected calls to ease restrictions on surrogacy in 2020 and wrote in 2015 that as "a gay man and a Christian I find it personally very hard to warm to the idea of a rented womb". His announcement this week that he and his husband had become parents to a son, Georg, immediately triggered accusations of hypocrisy and double standards from across the political spectrum.
In his resignation letter to colleagues, Spahn wrote: "In recent days, I have come to realise that my personal happiness in starting a family with my husband and becoming a father is incompatible with my political office". He had initially attempted to defend his decision in a Friday podcast interview with the newspaper Bild, saying he had "wrestled with myself for a long time" over the issue of surrogacy. However, by Saturday, he acknowledged that the "balancing act between my private decision to have a child through surrogacy and the understandable expectations placed on me as chairman of our parliamentary group has proven more difficult than I had anticipated".
The backlash was swift and severe, with calls for his resignation coming from within his own party. Daniel Peters, the head of the CDU in the eastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, told Bild that Spahn's position was "no longer tenable and he must resign". Hubert Hueppe, the head of the CDU's group for older members, told Der Spiegel that he was "personally shocked" by Spahn's decision to go against the party's "clear stance". Opposition politicians also seized on the controversy. Luigi Pantisano, a leader of the hard-left Die Linke, said Spahn's decision "once again reveals a double standard," adding: "The law always applies to ordinary people, but for top politicians, they apparently apply only until they have enough money to go circumvent them abroad".
Chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomed Spahn's resignation, describing it as "right and unavoidable". "Credibility is the most valuable asset in politics," Merz said. Merz had warned on Friday that the party's national executive committee would discuss the matter and also stated that he saw "no reason" to change Germany's laws on surrogate pregnancy or alter the CDU's longstanding opposition. The chancellor will now work with Markus Söder, the leader of the CSU, to propose a successor for the parliamentary group leadership.
Spahn, 46, had been a prominent figure in German politics, serving as health minister during the COVID-19 pandemic and later becoming a leading voice on the CDU's right-wing flank, particularly on immigration. He had also forged close ties with the Republican Party under President Trump, attending the 2024 Republican National Convention. His resignation, coming just as the German government's summer season was beginning, has reignited a national debate over surrogacy and the ethical and legal questions surrounding it. While Spahn will leave his leadership post, he is expected to retain his seat in Parliament.
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