The parliamentary leader of Germany’s centre-right CDU/CSU bloc, Jens Spahn, is confronting demands for his resignation after he and his husband announced the birth of a son via a surrogate mother in the United States. The first formal call came from Daniel Peters, the CDU state chairman in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, who told Bild that Spahn had “deliberately disregarded German law” and could no longer serve as faction leader. The announcement has exposed a sharp rift inside the Christian Democrats, with several lawmakers reporting a wave of angry reactions from the party base and describing a “massive credibility problem” for the party’s most senior parliamentary figure.

Within the CDU, the criticism centres on the gap between Spahn’s private actions and the party’s official stance. At its February 2026 congress, the CDU reaffirmed its opposition to surrogacy, including altruistic models, and Spahn himself, as health minister in 2020, had rejected a liberal proposal to relax the ban. The Catholic bishop of Passau, Stefan Oster, called the case a “real scandal” and a violation of human dignity, while the Protestant bishop of Württemberg, Ernst-Wilhelm Gohl, warned that such conduct damages trust in politics. Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated that the legal situation and the party resolution would not change, and that the matter would be discussed at the next CDU presidium meeting. Spahn, speaking in a podcast interview, acknowledged he had “wrestled with himself for a long time” and said he should have spoken earlier, but insisted that becoming a parent through surrogacy is not a criminal offence under German law, which only prohibits the medical procedure and its mediation on German soil.

Viewed from Berlin, the affair highlights a widening gap between domestic legislation and the cross-border reality of reproductive services. Surrogacy is banned in Germany, but German courts have recognised parentage established abroad since 2014, and thousands of same-sex couples have used surrogacy in the United States, where commercial arrangements are legal in many states. The case has drawn attention to the fact that well-resourced couples can circumvent German restrictions, while others cannot. Opposition figures, including Green party co-leader Felix Banaszak, have called on Spahn to explain his change of position, while the liberal FDP accused him of enacting laws only to “evade them internationally with money and contacts.”

The immediate political consequence is a test of Spahn’s hold on his parliamentary group, which re-elected him with a strong majority in May. He has said he will discuss his future with the faction when it reconvenes in September, placing the decision in its hands. The CDU presidium is scheduled to address the matter on Monday. With a state election due in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in September, party strategists are concerned that the controversy could damage the CDU’s standing among voters who expect consistency on ethical issues. No formal vote on Spahn’s position has yet been scheduled, but the internal debate is likely to intensify in the coming days.