Surrogacy is prohibited in Germany, so Spahn has instead become a parent through a surrogate mother abroad, which is permitted.
But the senior politician is the parliamentary group leader of the conservative CDU, which is strictly opposed to surrogacy. Spahn was also opposed to surrogacy as health minister in former Chancellor Angela Merkel's government. This has led to massive internal criticism from the CDU and also from other parties.
Spahn has now stated in a letter, which German media are reporting, that he is resigning because his role as group leader is not compatible with his decision to have children.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomes his resignation, saying it was “right and inevitable.”
