German Politician Faces Criticism After Revealing Surrogacy Birth

Senior German conservative politician Jens Spahn has come under fire after revealing that he and his husband have become parents through a surrogate mother in the United States, despite his long-standing support for Germany’s ban on surrogacy.

Spahn, 46, announced this week that he and his husband, Daniel Funke, had welcomed a son named Georg. Speaking to German newspaper Bild, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) politician described the birth as the couple’s “greatest joy,” while Funke shared a family photograph on social media celebrating the arrival of their child.

The announcement has sparked criticism because surrogacy is prohibited in Germany under the country’s Embryo Protection Act. While German law does not prevent citizens from raising children born through surrogacy abroad, arranging a surrogate pregnancy within Germany remains illegal.

As parliamentary leader of the CDU/CSU alliance, Spahn has previously defended the ban. During his time as Germany’s health minister, he rejected proposals to relax surrogacy laws, and in 2015 publicly expressed personal reservations about the practice.

Critics from across the political spectrum have accused Spahn of applying different standards to his personal life than those he has supported in public office.

Marion Rosin, a CDU politician and member of the party’s Women’s Union in Thuringia, argued that elected officials should be judged by the same principles they promote and suggested the controversy had damaged Spahn’s political credibility.

Opposition politicians also questioned the apparent contradiction. Green Party leader Felix Banaszak congratulated the couple on the birth of their child but said Spahn should explain how his personal decision aligns with his political position on surrogacy.

Green health spokesperson Janosch Dahmen said the debate was not about the child itself but about consistency in public office, arguing that politicians should be able to justify why rules they support should not also apply to their own circumstances.

Liberal Free Democratic Party politician Henning Höne likewise criticised what he described as politicians using financial means and international arrangements to avoid restrictions they continue to support at home.

Some of the strongest criticism has come from within Spahn’s own political camp. Daniel Peters, a senior CDU politician in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, said Spahn’s position had become untenable and called for his resignation, arguing that public confidence depends on politicians applying the same standards to themselves that they advocate for others.

At the same time, other CDU and Christian Social Union (CSU) figures sought to separate the personal and political aspects of the issue. CSU politician Klaus Holetschek congratulated the couple while reaffirming his party’s support for maintaining Germany’s prohibition on surrogacy, insisting the existing law should remain unchanged.

The controversy comes as surrogacy laws continue to divide opinion across Europe. While several countries, including Germany, France, Spain and Italy, prohibit the practice domestically, legal approaches differ when children are born through surrogacy arrangements overseas. Recent court rulings and legislative changes have highlighted the growing debate over how such families should be recognised under national law.