Jens Spahn, the parliamentary group leader of Germany's Christian Democrats, has announced that he and his husband have become parents to a child born via a surrogate mother in the United States. The revelation has sparked calls for his resignation from politicians within and outside his party, who cite a perceived double standard.
Surrogacy is banned in Germany under the 1990 Embryo Protection Act, with penalties including up to three years imprisonment or a fine. Spahn himself previously backed this policy. Despite the German ban, it is not illegal to bring a child born through surrogacy abroad into Germany.
"Politicians who set standards for others must be measured by them too," said Marion Rosin, a Christian Democrat and member of the Women's Union, in comments reported by the BBC. "If that credibility is gone, resignation is a matter of consequence."
Spahn, 46, and his husband, Daniel Funke, announced the birth of their son, Georg, on Wednesday. Spahn described the feeling of parenthood as "almost impossible to put into words," while Funke shared a picture on Instagram of the couple with a pram, captioned "We Are Family."
For many German couples, both heterosexual and same-sex, surrogacy abroad has become an option to have children. Several other European countries, including France, Spain, and Italy, also ban surrogacy. However, France's highest court recently ruled that babies born to surrogate mothers abroad should be legally recognized as their intended parents' children. In contrast, Italy's right-wing government made it illegal in 2024 for Italians to pursue surrogacy abroad.