BERLIN: A prominent member of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s centre-right party came under fire on Friday for having a child through a surrogate pregnancy in the United States, despite the practice being illegal.

Jens Spahn, the chairman of the CDU’s faction in the German parliament, and his husband recently became parents to a son born to a surrogate mother in the United States.

The CDU is, however, strictly opposed to making surrogate pregnancies legal in Germany and some in the party have criticised Spahn’s actions.

Merz said on Friday he saw “no need to change” Germany’s ban on surrogacy or his party’s clear opposition to it.

Asked whether he still supported Spahn, Merz would only say that the matter would be “discussed at the next meeting of the CDU’s national executive committee”.

Others in Merz’s party have been forthright in their condemnation, calling on Spahn to resign as head of the CDU’s parliamentary group.

But Spahn defended his decision late Friday, telling a podcast by the Bild newspaper that he had “wrestled with myself for a long time, including on the issue of surrogacy.

“I was torn for a long time. But through this wrestling and engaging with the issue, we decided on this path,” he said, adding these were not “easy decisions”.

Published in Dawn, July 18th, 2026