German CDU leader Spahn quits after surrogacy row

Jens Spahn resigned as chair of the Christian Democrat (CDU) parliamentary group on Saturday after it emerged that he and his husband used a surrogate mother in the United States to have a child. The move followed days of mounting internal criticism over the direct clash between his private actions and his public political stances.

Spahn, 46, has been a prominent voice on the CDU’s right flank, recently pushing for a hardline stance on immigration. However, his reputation for moral conservatism collided with the birth of his son, Georg. Commercial surrogacy is illegal in Germany under the 1990 Embryo Protection Act, carrying a penalty of up to three years in prison or a fine.

As health minister in 2020, Spahn explicitly refused to relax this ban. In 2015, he wrote that as a gay man and a Christian he found it hard to warm to the idea of a "rented womb." Yet in February, while his surrogate was four months pregnant, Spahn voted with his party to maintain the ban at a CDU conference.

The immediate fallout threatens the internal cohesion of the CDU as it positions itself as the next governing party under Friedrich Merz. Senior party figures quickly framed the controversy not around surrogacy itself, but around political credibility.

"Politicians who set standards for others must be measured by them too," said Marion Rosin of the CDU’s Women’s Union in Thuringia. Daniel Peters, the party's leader in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, called Spahn’s actions "completely unacceptable," arguing a senior politician cannot vote one way and act differently in private.

Spahn initially attempted to weather the storm, telling Bild he had "wrestled with myself for a long time" before deciding to start a family. He stressed that his son was his "greatest joy." As pressure mounted, Merz refused to publicly defend his ally, instead signalling that the executive committee would handle the matter.

Spahn ultimately conceded that his new family life was "incompatible with my political office." Merz confirmed the departure on social media, writing that the resignation was "right and inevitable" because "credibility is the most valuable asset in politics."

The scandal underscores a broader dilemma in German public life. While the law strictly forbids surrogacy, the financial means to access it abroad remain readily available to the wealthy and well-connected. For the CDU, the sudden departure of a leading figure creates an unwelcome distraction as the party attempts to focus on its broader economic and political strategy.