German politician resigns over surrogacy child controversy

What the report says

BBC World News reported that Jens Spahn, a senior figure in Germany’s centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), resigned on 18 July 2026 as parliamentary group leader of the governing coalition after controversy over his decision to have a child through a surrogate in the United States. Spahn, 46, had announced earlier in the week that he and his husband, Daniel Funke, had become parents.

The dispute centred on accusations of double standards. Surrogacy is banned in Germany, and the CDU has supported that position; the BBC noted that Spahn himself opposed easing the ban when he was health minister in 2020 and had previously criticised the idea. While German law prohibits surrogacy domestically, it does not bar parents from raising a child born through surrogacy abroad.

In a statement cited by the BBC, Spahn said becoming a father with his husband was no longer compatible with his political role, and that the tension between his private family decision and public expectations had grown more difficult than he had expected. Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the CDU leader, described the resignation as necessary and said he would start the process of finding a replacement. German media reported that Alexander Hoffmann of the Christian Social Union would temporarily take over Spahn’s duties.

The resignation matters because Spahn has been one of the CDU’s most prominent politicians and the controversy comes as Merz faces weak polling and important regional elections. The BBC also placed the case in a wider European context, noting that countries including France, Spain and Italy restrict surrogacy, while legal treatment of children born through overseas arrangements varies.