German lawmaker faces criticism over use of surrogate mother

A prominent member of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's centre-right party came under fire on Friday for having a child through a surrogate pregnancy in the United States, despite the practice being illegal in Germany.

Jens Spahn, the chairman of the CDU's faction in the German parliament, and his husband recently became parents to a son born to a surrogate mother in the United States, according to German media reports.

The CDU has however strictly opposed making surrogate pregnancies legal in Germany and some in the party have criticised Spahn's actions.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Friday said he saw "no need to change" Germany's ban on surrogacy or his party's clear opposition to it.

Asked whether he still supported Spahn, Merz would only say that the matter would be "discussed at the next meeting of the CDU's national executive committee".

Others in Merz's party have been forthright in their condemnation.

"Jens Spahn is no longer tenable as chairman of the parliamentary group and must resign," Daniel Peters, the leader of the CDU in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, told the Bild newspaper on Friday.

Peters, who sits on the CDU's national executive committee, said it was "completely unacceptable" for Spahn to vote one way as a CDU lawmaker and then "act quite differently as a private individual".

The head of the CDU's group for older members, Hubert Hueppe, told Der Spiegel magazine that he was "personally shocked" by Spahn's decision in spite of the CDU's "clear stance" on the issue.

"Of course, I can understand that everyone desires a child, including homosexual couples," Hueppe said, but added that the debate is over "whether women are being instrumentalised".

According to Bild, the couple's surrogate was around four months pregnant when the CDU last voted to maintain the ban on surrogacy in February.

Sources close to Spahn told Focus magazine that US regulations aimed at protecting women were a decisive factor in the couple's decision to go there for a surrogate mother.

The government's own commissioner for queer issues, Sophie Koch from the centre-left SPD, also reacted to the row.

"Many queer people want children and should be able to fulfil this wish," she told the Rheinische Post, but added: "I don't think commercial surrogacy is the right way."

Spahn, 46, previously served as Germany's health minister during the Covid-19 pandemic under former chancellor Angela Merkel.

Under Merz, he has become a prominent right-wing voice in the party, especially on immigration issues.

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© Agence France-Presse