Spahn voted to keep surrogacy ban he later used
Jens Spahn, 46, resigned Saturday as the leader of the center-right Christian Democratic Union parliamentary group in the Bundestag, three days after announcing the birth of his son Georg with husband Daniel Funke, according to United Press International. The couple used a surrogate in the United States to welcome their child.
Spahn told the German newspaper Bild: “Georg is our greatest joy. This feeling is almost impossible to put into words.”
The announcement triggered immediate criticism from within his own party because surrogacy is outlawed in Germany, according to UPI. Spahn and his fellow CDU members voted to keep the law in place in February.
In 2015, Spahn wrote that “as a gay man and a Christian, I find it personally very hard to warm to the idea of a rented womb,” according to UPI.
In a podcast appearance, Spahn said he struggled with the decision to use surrogacy but ultimately put his family first, UPI reported.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, also a CDU member, called on Spahn to step down Saturday, according to UPI. Other regional members of the party also sought his ouster.