Jens Spahn Resigns as German Coalition Parliamentary Group Leader After Surrogacy Decision

Jens Spahn resigned Saturday as parliamentary group leader of Germany's governing coalition. The BBC reported that Spahn, 46, and his husband Daniel Funke had become parents via a surrogate mother in the United States, prompting accusations of hypocrisy given his party's support for Germany's surrogacy ban.

" Spahn wrote on social media that "Credibility is the highest asset in politics" and that the balancing act between his private decision and expectations as chairman had grown greater than anticipated.

He cited the "increasing relentlessness in public discourse" as a factor in his choice. German media reported that Alexander Hoffmann, head of the Christian Social Union parliamentary group, would assume Spahn's duties until a successor is chosen. Spahn's CDU party reaffirmed its support for a domestic surrogacy ban in a February resolution.

The 1990 Embryo Protection Act prohibits surrogacy in Germany and carries penalties of up to three years imprisonment or a fine. As health minister in 2020, Spahn rejected calls to relax the ban. In 2015 he wrote that as a gay man and a Christian he found it personally hard to warm to the idea of a rented womb.

Daniel Peters, a leading CDU politician in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, said Spahn's position was no longer tenable. Peters stated it was wrong for Spahn to disregard German law while acting differently in private and voting with the party. France's Court of Cassation ruled this month that babies born to surrogates abroad should be recognized as the intended parents' children.

Italy banned its citizens from pursuing surrogacy abroad in 2024.