Key facts
- Jens Spahn resigned as leader of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in Germany.
- Spahn and his husband used a surrogate mother in the US to have a child.
- Surrogacy is prohibited in Germany, a stance supported by the CDU.
- Critics accused Spahn of hypocrisy due to his past opposition to legalizing surrogacy.
- Chancellor Friedrich Merz deemed the resignation 'right' and 'unavoidable'.
Jens Spahn, the leader of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in Germany, has resigned from his position amid controversy over his use of a surrogate mother in the United States to have a child. Spahn stated that the "balancing act between my personal decision to have a child through surrogacy and the understandable expectations placed on me as Chairman of our parliamentary group has become greater than I anticipated."
Chancellor Friedrich Merz described Spahn's resignation as "right" and "inevitable," emphasizing that "credibility is the highest asset in politics." Merz indicated he would begin the process of appointing a replacement.
Surrogacy is prohibited in Germany under the 1990 Embryo Protection Act, a policy backed by Spahn's Christian Democrat party (CDU), which he himself had supported. Critics, including some within his own party, pointed to Spahn's past opposition to legalizing surrogacy and his previous statements finding the idea of a "rented womb" personally difficult, accusing him of hypocrisy and double standards. However, raising a child born to a surrogate mother abroad is not penalized in Germany.
Alexander Hoffmann, head of the Christian Social Union parliamentary group, will assume Spahn's duties until a successor is chosen. Hoffmann stated that Spahn's decision "deserves the utmost respect."