Senior German conservative resigns following backlash over surrogacy

Jens Spahn, the leader of the conservative bloc in the German parliament and a key ally of Chancellor Friedrich Merz, is stepping down amid a controversy surrounding his decision to have a child via a surrogate mother in the United States, according to a letter by Spahn seen by dpa on Saturday, reported dpa.

The decision has sparked criticism in Germany because surrogacy is banned in the country. Calls for his resignation had been mounting since then, not only from opposition parties but also from his own Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party.

Merz's CDU opposes legalizing the practice, a position Spahn himself previously held as the former health minister.

Spahn and his husband, Daniel Funke, announced on Wednesday that they had become parents after a surrogate mother in the United States gave birth to their son.

The main accusation is that Spahn is making private use of options which he has politically denied to people in similar situations in Germany.

Critics have also pointed to his decision as health minister in 2020 to turn down a call by the pro-business Free Democrats to relax Germany's ban on surrogacy.

Sources: Merz urges resignation

According to dpa sources, Merz had urged Spahn to step down. The chancellor described the resignation as "right" and "inevitable."

"Credibility is the greatest asset in politics. I would like to thank Jens Spahn for his collaboration," Merz said on Saturday.

"Jens Spahn was a key pillar of the coalition in the development of the major reform projects over the past few weeks," Merz said. "The procedure and timetable will now be agreed with the party and parliamentary group committees."

In his letter to lawmakers, Spahn wrote, "Over the past few days, I have come to realize that my personal happiness - starting a family with my husband and becoming a father - is incompatible with my political office."

Spahn criticized a "growing relentlessness in the public debate," which had given him much food for thought, and appealed for people to "remain humane in their tone, whilst maintaining clarity and decisiveness on the matter."

"One thing has become increasingly clear to me over the last few days: My family is the most important thing to me," he added.

Former state premier defends Spahn

But former Hessian state premier Roland Koch, a long-time ally of Merz, has defended Spahn and said the criticism had gone too far.

Writing on LinkedIn on Friday, Koch said no law had been broken and described the debate as a "dilemma" in which condemnation was inappropriate.

He said Spahn remained "one of the [CDU's] most important and successful politicians of recent times."

Along with Merz and Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, Spahn was considered one of Germany's most powerful conservative politicians.