Germany: Jens Spahn, CDU/CSU group leader, resigns after surrogacy revelation

Herz — World Desk · 18 July 2026 at 14:46 · 30s summary · 3 min read

What we know

Jens Spahn, 46, leader of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group — the federal alliance of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) — resigned on July 18, 2026. According to the New York Times and Al Jazeera, press outlets had revealed two days earlier that he and his husband had a child through surrogacy in the United States.

Members of the CDU/CSU group immediately called for his resignation. The opposition accused Spahn of hypocrisy, noting that the group had voted in February 2026 to maintain Germany's surrogacy ban.

As leader of the parliamentary group, Spahn was responsible for ensuring the government of Merz had the votes needed for its legislative agenda. His resignation deprives the chancellor of one of his closest allies.

Context

Surrogacy is a practice in which a woman outside a couple carries a child; she delivers the child to the intended parents at birth. It is prohibited under German law, but it remains legal for German citizens to raise in Germany a child born to a surrogate mother abroad.

In February 2026, the CDU/CSU group had voted to strengthen this ban — only months before the crisis broke. Spahn was then leader of the group and played a central role in Chancellor Merz's legislative agenda.

Timeline

1. February 2026
   The CDU/CSU group, under Spahn's leadership, votes to maintain Germany's surrogacy ban.
2. July 16, 2026
   Press outlets reveal that Spahn and his husband had a child through surrogacy in the United States. Party members call for his resignation; the opposition accuses him of hypocrisy.
3. July 17, 2026
   Spahn tells the newspaper Bild he had 'struggled with myself for a long time, including on the question of surrogacy'.
4. July 18, 2026
   Spahn announces his resignation. In his letter, he writes that his personal happiness is 'incompatible with [his] political office'. Chancellor Merz calls the decision 'just and inevitable' and says he sees 'no reason' to change the party's position on surrogacy.