Surrogacy should remain banned in Germany, a party spokeswoman for the conservative CDU/CSU parliamentary group said on Thursday, following an announcement by the group’s leader that he used a US surrogate mother to have a child for him and his husband.
“The coalition agreement does not provide for any change to the current legal situation,” a spokesman for Family Minister Karin Prien, who belongs to Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democratic Union party (CDU), told the Funke media group. The group also includes the CDU’s Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU).
Jens Spahn, the CDU/CSU parliamentary leader, and his husband Daniel Funke were unable to use a surrogate mother in Germany because the practice is illegal. So they used one in the United States.
At a party conference in February, the CDU decided: “In view of ethical, legal and practical concerns about surrogacy, the CDU of Germany reaffirms its demand that surrogacy – including in altruistic models – should continue to be banned in Germany in order to prevent abuse, exploitation and health risks.”
Criticism from the Women’s Union
Spahn drew criticism – including from within CDU ranks – for going to the US to have a child.
“Surrogacy is banned in Germany for good ethical reasons,” Marion Rosin, the Thuringia state chairwoman of the Women’s Union, told the Funke media group.
“Anyone who circumvents this ban through a solution abroad is placing themselves above the spirit of German law,” she said, suggesting he should resign.
If a top politician’s credibility is lost, “resignation is a matter of consequence.”