Spahn Under Pressure: Criticism of Surrogacy in the USA Widens

Spahn appealed for understanding for his long personal process of deliberation. "Ich habe lange mit mir gerungen, auch was das Thema Leihmutterschaft angeht", he said. "Ich bin lange zerrissen gewesen." At the same time, he emphasized that he does not derive political demands from his private life: "Jens Spahn leitet grundsätzlich aus seinem Privatleben keine politischen Forderungen ab."

Criticism from His Own Ranks

The reactions from his own ranks were, however, clearly critical. The CDU state chairman of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Daniel Peters, told the "Bild" newspaper: "Jens Spahn ist als Vorsitzender der Unionsfraktion nicht mehr tragbar und muss zurücktreten." Peters criticized that Spahn had "in voller Absicht über in Deutschland geltendes Recht hinweggesetzt" and claimed for himself "als Privatperson ganz anders handeln zu können, als er als CDU-Mandatsträger abstimmt". Peters continued: "Das gehe überhaupt nicht."

The Berlin CDU member of parliament Peer Mock-Stümer told "Stern" that Spahn's resignation was "zwingend". The Rhineland-Palatinate member of the Bundestag Ellen Demuth wrote in an internal chat, from which "Politico" quoted, that she no longer felt represented by the position of the chairman as a member of the Christian-conservative parliamentary group.

The chairman of the Senior Citizens' Union, Hubert Hüppe, told "Spiegel" that he was "persönlich geschockt" and told "Focus" magazine: "Die Leihmutterschaft ist zu Recht in Deutschland verboten." Hüppe criticized: "Es ist nicht gut, wenn sich Politiker mit Macht und Geld darüber hinwegsetzen."

Accusations from the Greens, FDP and Left Party

Sharp criticism also came from the ranks of the Greens, the FDP and the Left party. The health policy spokesperson of the Greens parliamentary group, Janosch Dahmen, accused Spahn of double standards: "Wer Regeln politisch propagiert, sollte nachvollziehbar erklären, warum sie für ihn selbst offenbar nicht gelten sollen", he told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland. Greens leader Felix Banaszak told the television channel Welt TV: "Ich glaube, das muss er jetzt auch tun" – meaning publicly answer questions. Banaszak told the Berliner Tagesspiegel that for him personally, the use of a surrogate would be "nicht der richtige Weg".

The women's policy spokesperson of the Left parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Kathrin Gebel, said: "Was ich nicht respektieren kann, sind Politiker, die in Deutschland für Gesetze sorgen, die sie dann mit Geld und Kontakten international umgehen." She also emphasized that the family of Jens Spahn deserves respect like any other family. Gebel warned that pregnancy and birth must not become "zu Dienstleistungen werden, die sich vor allem Wohlhabende kaufen können".

The deputy FDP chairman Henning Höne told the RND that surrogacy was a complex ethical question in which he could respect different opinions. The SPD member of parliament Carmen Wegge criticized in "Spiegel": "Wer es sich finanziell leisten kann, wählt den Weg über eine Leihmutter im Ausland, anstatt sich beispielsweise für ein Pflege- oder Adoptivkind zu öffnen."

Spahn's Earlier Positioning

Spahn was German Minister of Health from 2018 to 2021. The Embryo Protection Act, which regulates the prohibition of surrogacy, thus fell within his area of responsibility. In 2015, "GQ" magazine had quoted him as saying: "Als schwuler Mann und Christ kann ich persönlich mich nur sehr schwer mit der Idee eines gemieteten Mutterbauchs anfreunden." In response to a Minor Interpellation from the FDP parliamentary group, the ministry had answered in 2020 that a change in the legal situation was not planned in the current legislative period; the rationale lay "primär in der Wahrung des Kindeswohls".

Spahn pointed to his personal change of view. "Ich selbst halte sie aus guten Gründen für problematisch", he said with regard to surrogacy. At the same time, he appealed for leniency: "Wer selbst einmal vor eine solche Frage gestellt war, wird möglicherweise milder urteilen." Regarding his political future, he said: "Ich werde die Frage, wie es weitergeht, mit der Fraktion natürlich erörtern, wenn wir uns im September wiedersehen."

Chancellor Merz and the Federal Government

Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced that he would address the topic at the next CDU presidium meeting. At a press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron in Brühl, Merz said he was aware that the topic "in seiner ganzen Dimension menschlich, juristisch, gesellschaftlich, ethisch" moves very many people. He did not see that "Änderungen vorgenommen werden sollen" to the applicable legal situation.

A spokesperson for the federal government told the Funke newspapers: "Der Koalitionsvertrag sieht keine Änderung der aktuellen Rechtslage vor." A spokesperson also emphasized: "Eltern werden oder Leihmutter sein steht nicht unter Strafe."

From the CSU came backing for the applicable legal situation, but also criticism of Spahn's behavior. CSU state group leader Alexander Hoffmann told the RND that he wished Spahn and his family "alles Gute und Gottes Segen". The Bavarian CSU state parliamentary group leader Klaus Holetschek told dpa: "Es geht um die Glaubwürdigkeit unserer Politik." Holetschek emphasized: "Was in Deutschland verboten ist, bleibt verboten – und daran werden wir nicht rütteln."

Backing and Solidarity

The Schöneberg member of parliament Jan-Marco Luczak, on the other hand, came to Spahn's defense on "X": It was also about the perspective of a couple that longs for a child of their own. Berlin's CDU lead candidate Stefan Evers said on the sidelines of the Queer Election Arena by Tagesspiegel, CSD Berlin and LSVD that for him personally, the use of a surrogate would be "nicht der richtige Weg".

A commission appointed by the then-traffic-light government in March 2023 concluded that a legalization of egg cell donation would be constitutionally possible. The debate about surrogacy must be separated from this. Spahn said according to "Bild" excerpts: "Ich werde mit meiner Fraktion darüber reden und das in ihre Verantwortung – wo es ja auch hingehört, der Vorsitzende der Fraktion – auch legen."

Spahn had already come under criticism several times in the past. For example, he came under criticism in 2020 when he bought a luxury villa in Berlin and took out a generous loan from the bank on whose administrative board he had previously sat. The current debate connects the personal life decision with the question of political credibility.

Ethical and Legal Assessment

The Left politician Gebel said: "Wenn er seine politische Haltung zur Leihmutterschaft geändert hat, sollte er das offen erklären." She herself warned that pregnancy and birth must not become "zu Dienstleistungen werden, die sich vor allem Wohlhabende kaufen können".

Hüppe told "Focus": "Unsere Gesetze in Europa messen dem Schutz der austragenden Frau vor Ausbeutung, der Vermeidung einer Kommerzialisierung von Schwangerschaft und Geburt sowie dem Schutz des Kindes vor komplexen Abstammungskonflikten eine große Bedeutung bei." He was all the more irritated "wenn Politiker, die hier jedwede Liberalisierung gesetzlicher Grundlagen zur Leihmutterschaft vehement ablehnen, dann aber selbst im Ausland genau diese in Anspruch nehmen".

The news was broadcast on 17.07.2026 on the Deutschlandfunk program. Spahn announced that he would discuss the question of his political future with the parliamentary group. A resignation, as demanded by parts of his own party, could only be decided by the parliamentary group.

Outlook on the Parliamentary Group Meeting in September

The ethical questions surrounding surrogacy were "nicht trivial", said Höne. Gebel emphasized that she also viewed so-called altruistic surrogacy – meaning without payment – critically, "da eine Schwangerschaft und die Geburt erhebliche körperliche, gesundheitliche und soziale Risiken für die betroff