“The gap between my private decision to have a child through surrogacy and the understandable expectations placed on me as chair of our parliamentary group has become greater than I anticipated,” he stated.
While surrogacy is illegal in Germany, there is no penalty for raising a child born via surrogate abroad.
Spahn, a former health minister, faced hypocrisy accusations as Germany’s Christian Democrats strongly oppose surrogacy, a stance the party reaffirmed earlier this year. Spahn himself had previously expressed skepticism about legalizing the practice.
Several Christian Democrats called for Spahn to resign this week. Merz announced on Friday that the surrogacy issue would be addressed at the party’s next executive committee meeting, and several German media outlets reported Saturday morning that the chancellor had asked Spahn to quit.
On X, Merz described Spahn’s decision to resign as “right and inevitable,” adding: “Credibility is the most valuable asset in politics.”
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