GERMAN CDU PARLIAMENTARY LEADER RESIGNS OVER SURROGATE CHILD

Jens Spahn resigned as parliamentary group leader of Germany's governing coalition on Saturday following criticism over his use of a surrogate mother in the United States to have a child. Spahn stated that his personal decision to become a father was incompatible with his political office. Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who leads the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), described the resignation as "right" and "inevitable", and said he would begin appointing a successor. Spahn and his husband Daniel Funke became parents earlier in the week through surrogacy.

Surrogacy is prohibited in Germany under the 1990 Embryo Protection Act, which carries penalties of up to three years imprisonment or a fine. The CDU, Spahn's own party, reaffirmed its support for maintaining the ban as recently as February, citing concerns about commercial surrogacy models. In his resignation statement, Spahn acknowledged that "the balancing act between my private decision to have a child through surrogacy and the understandable expectations placed on me" had become greater than anticipated. He also referenced "increasing relentlessness in public discourse" as contributing to his decision.

Alexander Hoffmann, head of the Christian Social Union parliamentary group, will assume Spahn's duties as parliamentary leader of the CDU and Christian Social Union until a permanent successor is appointed. Hoffmann said Spahn's decision "deserves the utmost respect". German media reported that whilst raising a child born to a surrogate mother abroad is lawful in Germany, the controversy centred on the apparent contradiction between Spahn's personal choices and his party's stated policy position.