Jens Spahn Resigns CDU Leadership Over US Surrogacy Controversy

Parliamentary group leader Jens Spahn resigned his leadership post on Saturday following a controversy over his decision to have a child via a surrogate mother in the United States with his husband, Daniel Funke. The announcement of their son, Georg, triggered immediate backlash in Germany, where surrogacy is prohibited under the Embryo Protection Act. Critics accused Spahn of hypocrisy, noting that he had previously opposed the liberalization of surrogacy laws during his tenure as health minister and attended a February 2026 party resolution reaffirming the ban.

Members of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), including state chairman Daniel Peters and Hubert Hueppe, condemned the move as unacceptable. Opposition figures from the Greens and Die Linke further criticized Spahn for utilizing his wealth to circumvent national laws that apply to ordinary citizens. Spahn defended the choice as a difficult personal decision, eventually concluding that his personal happiness in starting a family was incompatible with his political office.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz, while personally congratulating the couple, described the resignation as right and unavoidable. Merz maintained that the party's opposition to surrogacy remains unchanged and stressed that political credibility is a vital asset. While surrogacy is legal in certain U.S. states and raising a child born abroad is not illegal in Germany, the perceived double standard rendered Spahn's position as faction chairman untenable.