World

Jens Spahn (CDU): U.S. Surrogate Parenthood Announcement Triggers Internal Party Crisis

Herz — World Desk · 17 July 2026 at 15:45 · 30s summary · 4 min read

The essentials

On July 15, 2026, Daniel Funke, husband of CDU deputy Jens Spahn, announced the couple became parents through a U.S. surrogate—a practice banned in Germany and rejected by the CDU's February 2026 congress. The revelation triggered a party crisis: two CDU officials demanded Spahn resign from his position as head of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group. Chancellor Friedrich Merz confirmed on July 17 that the surrogacy ban would remain unchanged. Spahn said he would let the parliamentary group decide his future in September 2026.

July 15, 2026: Daniel Funke announces the couple became parents through a U.S. surrogate.
Surrogacy is illegal in Germany; the CDU reaffirmed this stance in February 2026.
Two CDU officials demand Spahn resign from his parliamentary group leadership position.
Chancellor Merz confirms the surrogacy ban remains unchanged.
Spahn says the parliamentary group will decide his future in September 2026.

Jens Spahn (CDU): Vaterschaft durch US-Leihmutter löst innerparteiliche Krise aus — This file is available under Creative Commons BY-SA license. Basically: You can use this picture for any purpose, provided that you attribute it to Pavel Hrdlička, Wikipedia. You may distribute the resulting work under the same license., CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

What We Know

On Wednesday, July 15, 2026, Daniel Funke, husband of CDU deputy Jens Spahn in the Bundestag, announced that the couple became parents through a U.S. surrogate, according to Süddeutsche Zeitung.

Surrogacy—the practice of having a woman carry a pregnancy and then hand the child to intended parents—is illegal in Germany. In February 2026, the CDU's federal congress reaffirmed this prohibition through an official party resolution (Parteitagsbeschluss), a decision that morally binds party members.

Spahn himself had consistently opposed legalizing surrogacy, making his personal choice directly contrary to his party's official position—especially significant given his role as head of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group.

On July 17, 2026, following the Franco-German cabinet meeting in Brühl, Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated that the surrogacy ban would remain unchanged. He announced that the CDU's Präsidium—the party's top governing body comprising its chairman, vice-chairmen, and general secretary—would discuss the matter at its meeting the following Monday in Berlin.

Reactions Within the Party

On July 17, 2026, two regional CDU officials demanded Spahn's resignation from leadership of the Unionsfraktion—the joint parliamentary group of CDU and CSU members in the Bundestag, one of the most important positions in federal parliament—according to Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

He deliberately circumvented German law and claims the right to act differently in private from what he votes on as a CDU elected official.
— Daniel Peters, chairman of CDU Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, in Bild, July 17, 2026

Marion Rosin, head of the Frauen Union in Thuringia, also called for Spahn's resignation. The national Frauen Union reaffirmed its opposition to surrogacy through a spokesperson.

Members of the Unionsfraktion reported dozens of calls from grassroots supporters citing a 'massive credibility problem' and 'double standards.' In at least one internal discussion group with several dozen members, a call for Spahn's resignation was drafted and circulated, though it initially garnered no immediate backing.

Women should neither be bought for sex nor used as incubators.
— Mechthild Heil, head of the women's group within the Unionsfraktion (over 40 members)

Stefan Evers, CDU lead candidate for Berlin and also married to a man, stated on July 16, 2026 at the 'Queere Wahlarena' in Berlin-Kreuzberg that surrogacy 'would not personally be the right way' for him, while acknowledging the ethical tension of the issue.