German politician resigns over surrogacy child controversy - BBC News

Jens Spahn faced criticism over his use of a surrogate, a ban on which he previously backed.

Image source, ReutersImage caption, 46-year-old Jens Spahn announced he and his husband had become parents earlier this week

German centre-right politician Jens Spahn has resigned as parliamentary group leader of the country's governing coalition after being accused of hypocrisy over his use of a surrogate mother in the US to have a child.

Surrogacy is prohibited in Germany - a policy backed by his Christian Democrat party (CDU) and, several years ago, by Spahn himself - although raising a child born to a surrogate mother abroad is not.

He wrote in a statement on Saturday: "I have realised that my personal happiness - founding a family together with my husband and becoming a father - is not compatible with my political office."

Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who leads the CDU, called his decision "right" and "inevitable".