German politician resigns over surrogacy child controversy
German center-right politician Jens Spahn resigned as leader of the parliamentary group of the country’s governing coalition after he was accused of hypocrisy for using a surrogate mother to have a child in the United States.
Surrogacy is banned in Germany – a policy supported by the Christian Democratic Party (CDU) and by Spahn himself a few years ago – but raising a child born to a surrogate mother abroad is prohibited.
“I realized that my personal happiness, such as starting a family with my wife and becoming a father, was incompatible with my political office,” he wrote in a statement on Saturday.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz, leader of the CDU, called his decision “correct” and “inevitable”.
“Credibility is the greatest value in politics,” he wrote on social media, and said he would begin the process of appointing someone to replace Spahn.
The 46-year-old former health minister announced earlier this week that she and her husband Daniel Funke had become parents, and that their use of a surrogate mother abroad had sparked criticism from politicians from various parties, including herself.
Announcing his resignation on Saturday, Spahn wrote: “The balance between my private decision to have a child through surrogacy and the understandable expectations placed on me as head of our parliamentary group has become greater than I expected,” he added.
He also said the “increasing brutality in public discourse” had given him a “deep pause for thought”.
“For all the clarity and determination on the issues, let us always remain human in our tone,” he wrote.
German media reported that Alexander Hoffmann, head of the Christian Social Union parliamentary group, would take over Spahn’s duties until his successor is elected.
Hoffmann said: “Jens Spahn’s decision deserves the utmost respect.”
The CDU signed a resolution in February reaffirming its support for banning surrogacy. As health minister in 2020, Spahn rejected calls from the liberal FDP to relax the ban.
“As a gay man and a Christian, I personally find it very difficult to embrace the idea of wombs for rent,” he wrote in 2015.
In Germany, surrogacy is punishable by three years in prison or a fine, making surrogacy abroad an important option for many couples.
