German conservative leader Jens Spahn resigns over surrogacy scandal

Published Jul 23, 01:00 PM UTC

Jens Spahn, parliamentary leader of Germany's CDU/CSU conservative bloc, resigned on July 18th 2026 after a surrogacy scandal. Spahn and his husband had a baby via a surrogate in America, despite surrogacy being illegal in Germany and Spahn himself having argued it should remain so. The hypocrisy sparked public outrage, forcing his resignation just as Chancellor Friedrich Merz's government was gaining stability. The scandal has thrown Germany's conservatives into turmoil, undermining Merz's coalition at a critical time.