German conservative politician resigns after pressure over surrogate baby

BERLIN — Jens Spahn, a senior member of Germany’s ruling conservatives, ​resigned on Saturday after welcoming a baby ‌born to a surrogate mother in the United States, a move at odds with his own party’s opposition to ​surrogacy.

BERLIN — Jens Spahn, a senior member of Germany’s ruling conservatives, ​resigned on Saturday after welcoming a baby ‌born to a surrogate mother in the United States, a move at odds with his own party’s opposition to ​surrogacy.

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Spahn, 46, the parliamentary leader of Chancellor Friedrich ⁠Merz’s Christian Democrat party and its sister Christian Social ​Union (CDU/CSU), drew heavy criticism after news emerged that ​he had become a parent with his husband through a surrogate mother.

Surrogacy is prohibited in Germany, although it ​is not illegal to bring up a ​child born of a surrogate mother outside Germany.