German lawmaker resigns after backlash for having baby through surrogacy

Jens Spahn, a top politician in Germany’s governing conservative coalition, has resigned following criticism that trailed his announcement of having a baby through surrogacy in the United States.

“I have realised that my personal happiness—founding a family together with my husband and becoming a father—is not compatible with my political office,” he said in a statement on Saturday.

In Germany, surrogacy is prohibited and punishable by up to three years’ imprisonment, but raising a child born through surrogacy outside the country is not.

The 46-year-old politician and his party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), had backed this policy several years ago.

In 2015, he stated, “As a gay man and a Christian, I find it personally very hard to warm to the idea of a rented womb.”

Mr Spahn, the parliamentary leader of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s CDU, announced earlier this week that he had welcomed a child with his partner, Daniel Funke, through a surrogate mother in the U.S.

However, his announcement was met with criticism from politicians, including his fellow conservatives, who called for his resignation.

“The balancing act between my private decision to have a child through surrogacy and the understandable expectations placed on me as chairman of our parliamentary group has become greater than I anticipated,” he stated.

Mr Spahn said the intensifying controversy surrounding his decision made him reflect deeply.

“Despite all clarity and decisiveness regarding the issues, let us always remain human in our tone,” he added.

The CDU leader, Mr Merz, said Mr Spahn’s decision was “right” and “inevitable,” adding that he would commence the process of appointing the politician’s replacement.

“Credibility is the highest asset in politics,” he wrote on social media.

Alexander Hoffmann, the head of the Christian Social Union (CSU) parliamentary group, will take over Mr Spahn’s position, according to German media.

While serving as the country’s health minister, Mr Spahn had rejected calls by the liberal  Free Democratic Party (FDP) to relax the ban on surrogacy.

In February, the CDU reaffirmed its support for a ban on surrogacy.