German Gay Politician Faces Resignation Calls Over Child Born via Surrogacy

German politician Jens Spahn, the parliamentary group leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), is facing calls to resign. The backlash follows a recent announcement that he and his husband have become parents to a child born via a surrogate mother in the US, reports LGBTQ Nation .

In Germany, surrogacy has been banned since 1990, and the CDU strongly opposes its legalization. Spahn himself has repeatedly supported this ban in the past for ethical reasons. While serving as Health Minister in 2020, he rejected proposals to relax legislation in this area, and in 2015 he stated that “as a gay man and a Christian, I find it personally very hard to warm to the idea of a rented womb.”

Party colleagues and representatives of other political forces have accused Spahn of double standards. CDU politician Daniel Peters stated that Spahn showed a disregard for German law and called on him to step down. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced that the issue would be discussed at the next meeting of the party’s leadership. However, the law does not prohibit German citizens from raising a child born to a surrogate mother abroad.