Berlin, surrogacy and the Bundestag: when a CDU leader assumes what Rome condemns

Context

The issue of surrogacy has been debated in European legislations for fifteen years. Banned in Germany (by the Embryonenschutzgesetz of 1990 and Article 1591 of the BGB), in France, Italy, and Spain, it is authorized under conditions in Portugal, Greece, and Belgium. The European Court of Human Rights, in its Mennesson (2014) and Paradiso (2017) case law, has progressively compelled states to recognize filiations obtained abroad. In France, the Court of Cassation took a decisive step in June 2026, effectively erasing the boundary of natural law.

The Facts

On July 18, 2026, La Croix reported Jens Spahn's resignation from the presidency of the CDU-CSU group in the Bundestag, following the revelation that he became a father through a surrogate mother abroad. Former Health Minister under Angela Merkel, Spahn, married to Daniel Funke, had always publicly defended the German ban on surrogacy. His resignation from the parliamentary group presidency, but not from his position as a member of parliament, is presented by the CDU leadership as a "gesture of responsibility." The SPD sees it as "the admission of a double political life"; the AfD denounces "the moral betrayal of German conservatism."

Doctrinal Analysis

The Catholic magisterium has been consistent since Donum vitae (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, 1987), which condemns surrogate motherhood as contrary to the unity of marriage and the dignity of human procreation. Dignitas personae (2008) confirms this line. Pope Francis, in his address to the diplomatic corps on January 8, 2024, qualified surrogacy as "deplorable" and called for its universal prohibition. Doctrinal coherence allows no personal exceptions, including for a political leader claiming to be Catholic.

Stakes for the Church and the Faithful

The Spahn affair reveals the internal flaw of European conservatism. The CDU, historically linked to the Catholic Church of Cologne and Munich, had yet reaffirmed the ban on surrogacy in its 2021 program. The fact that its parliamentary group leader assumes it in practice designates the growing gap between the letter of the program and the real culture of conservative elites. For the German bishops, the question is twofold: publicly denouncing the act without incurring the burden of partisan politicization. The DBK, already divided over the Synodal Path, will emerge all the more weakened as it delays speaking out.

Critical Reading and Blind Spots

Three tracks to watch. The official position of the German Bishops' Conference (DBK), which has so far avoided commenting on the private lives of elected officials. The attitude of the Vatican, silent on this specific incident. Finally, the bills that could be introduced by the AfD or by dissident Christian Democrats to toughen Article 1591 of the BGB and prevent the recognition of filiations acquired abroad.

To Reflect and Act

Surrogacy is not a matter of orientation or sensitivity: it is a fundamental anthropological question. A child is neither a right nor a contract. We will pray for the child born in this affair, for his biological mother who remains unknown, and for a surge of truth within the CDU.