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Germany’s CDU party chair resigns after using surrogacy to become parent

The Guardian World Saturday 18 July 2026, 14:29 UTC By Donna Ferguson 1 min read
Key Points

Jens Spahn had criticised ‘rented wombs’ and his party is strongly opposed to surrogacy, which is banned in GermanyA senior German politician and key ally of chancellor Friedrich Merz has resigned as chair of the Christian Democrat (CDU) party after he and his husband used a surrogate mother to become parents, a practice he has criticised in the past and his party is vehemently opposed to. Surrogacy is banned in Germany, a policy Jens Spahn refused to relax when he was health minister in...

Jens Spahn had criticised ‘rented wombs’ and his party is strongly opposed to surrogacy, which is banned in Germany

A senior German politician and key ally of chancellor Friedrich Merz has resigned as chair of the Christian Democrat (CDU) party after he and his husband used a surrogate mother to become parents, a practice he has criticised in the past and his party is vehemently opposed to.

Surrogacy is banned in Germany, a policy Jens Spahn refused to relax when he was health minister in 2020, so he and his husband, Daniel Funke, used a surrogate mother in the US.

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Germany (LOCATION) CDU (ORG) Jens Spahn (PERSON) German (ORG) Friedrich Merz (PERSON) the Christian Democrat ( (ORG) Daniel Funke (PERSON) US (LOCATION)
Originally published by The Guardian World Read original →

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