Merz (r.) called for Spahn’s resignation.Image: keystone
July 18, 2026, 1:32 p.mJuly 18, 2026, 2:16 p.m
The German Union faction leader Jens Spahn resigns from his position. The CDU politician announced this in a letter to the members of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag. “In the last few days I have become aware that my personal happiness in starting a family with my husband and becoming a father is not compatible with my political office,” it says.
In his role as CDU leader, Chancellor Friedrich Merz Spahn had previously called for the step, as the German Press Agency learned from the party chairman’s entourage.
Spahn came under pressure because he and his husband Daniel Funke had sought the help of a surrogate mother in the USA. The former health minister was accused of double standards. The pressure on him has recently been growing more and more.
In his letter, Spahn criticized an “increasing relentlessness in public debate” that had made him very thoughtful and appealed to “always maintain a humane tone despite all the clarity and determination on the matter.” “One thing has become increasingly clear to me in the last few days: my family is the most important thing to me,” he added.
CSU regional group leader takes over on an interim basis
CSU regional group leader Alexander Hoffmann will take over the official duties as Union faction leader until a successor is elected. “Jens Spahn’s decision deserves the utmost respect,” said Hoffmann. Spahn led the Union faction through challenging times “and made a significant contribution to the success of this coalition”. The group remains capable of making decisions and acting.
Surrogate mother in USA gave birth to baby
Spahn and Funke announced on Wednesday that they had become parents. A surrogate mother in the USA gave birth to baby Georg. The criticism of this is so loud because surrogacy is banned in Germany and Spahn’s party is clearly against legalization, just as Spahn himself had done in the past. The main accusation is that Spahn is using private opportunities that he did not politically grant to people in a similar situation in Germany.
Discontent in the CDU
Critical voices were raised not only from the opposition. There was increasing discontent within his own party. The highlight on Friday was Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s CDU leader Daniel Peters, who called for Spahn’s resignation in “Bild”.
CDU associations at the municipal level joined this, such as the CDU Brilon, Merz’s hometown, or the Rhine-Neckar district association. The chairwoman of the women in the Union parliamentary group, Mechthild Heil, also chose sharp words: “Women must neither be bought for sex nor used as incubators,” she told the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”.
CDU resolution to ban surrogacy
Although there are also efforts in Germany to cautiously liberalize the question of surrogacy – the CDU expressly stuck to the current ban at a party conference in February: “In view of ethical, legal and practical concerns about surrogacy, the CDU in Germany reiterates its call to continue to ban surrogacy – even in altruistic models – in Germany in order to prevent abuse, exploitation and health risks,” the party decided.
Spahn: I was torn for a long time
Spahn spoke in a podcast with “Bild” reporter Paul Ronzheimer and said: “I struggled with myself for a long time, also when it came to the topic of surrogacy. I’ve been torn for a long time. But it was precisely because of this struggle and dealing with the topic that we decided on this path.” On the question of a possible resignation, he referred to discussions in the Union faction when it met again in September.
Clarity before the Chancellor’s summer interview
Merz made it clear on Friday that the issue should be discussed in the CDU presidium on Monday. The ZDF “summer interview” with the Chancellor is on the program on Sunday. Obviously there should be clarity beforehand.
Spahn was Federal Minister of Health from 2018 to 2021 – his area of responsibility therefore included the Embryo Protection Act, which regulates the ban on surrogacy. In 2020, his department responded to a small FDP request that a change was not planned – and explained that the rationale of the regulation was “primarily to protect the best interests of the child”.
In 2015, the magazine “GQ” quoted Spahn, then health policy spokesman for the Union parliamentary group, as saying: “As a gay man and Christian, I personally find it very difficult to get used to the idea of a rented womb. Accepting that I will not become a father naturally requires a great deal of humility. I don’t know if I can afford that.” (hkl/sda/dpa)
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