A senior member of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's ruling CDU party has resigned after having a baby born through a surrogate mother in the U.S., contrary to his own party’s position on surrogacy.
Jens Spahn, who was Parliamentary Group Leader of the CDU/CSU alliance, announced on Wednesday that he and his husband Daniel Funke had become parents by using a surrogate mother in the U.S.
In a letter dated Saturday, Spahn said that he had informed German Chancellor Friedrich Merz that he was resigning from his position as chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group.
“In recent days it has become clear to me that my personal happiness, starting a family with my husband and becoming a father is incompatible with my political office,” a translation of his letter from German read.
“The balancing act between my private decision to have a child through surrogacy and the understandable expectations placed on me as Chairman of our parliamentary group has become greater than I anticipated.”
Surrogacy is banned in Germany and is punishable with a prison sentence of three years, although it is legal to bring up a child born to a surrogate mother abroad.
The CDU party has backed the existing policy and Spahn himself previously refused to relax the ban while serving as Health Minister in 2020.
Spahn faced accusations of hypocrisy from opposition politicians and those within his own party after revealing his use of a surrogate mother earlier in the week.
"Politicians who set standards for others must be measured by them too," Marion Rosin, a CDU party official, in Thuringia, central Germany said.
The death toll from an overnight Russian attack on the Kyiv region rose to four, including three children, Kyiv regional authorities said on Sunday...
Houthi attacks target Riyadh amid concerns over Saudi oil supplies, as Iran says it will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until its conditions are m...
German voters cast ballots on Sunday in two state elections that could add to the political pressure on Chancellor Friedrich Merz, as his governmen...
Iran's Revolutionary Guards Navy said a Togo-flagged oil tanker was struck while attempting to make an “illegal passage” through the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state media said early on Friday.
Saudi civil defence sent an all-clear on Saturday after issuing alerts for a second time for potential danger in Riyadh and the city of Al-Kharj east of the capital, amid an uptick in attacks by Iran-aligned Houthis on the Gulf country.
The European Union will disburse €3.3 billion ($3.8 billion) to Ukraine for missiles and drones, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said after a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Houthi attacks target Riyadh amid concerns over Saudi oil supplies, as Iran says it will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until its conditions are met and U.S. commitments are implemented, parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Sunday.
The U.S. State Department approved a $2.7 billion military sale to Ukraine for air-defence development upgrades, along with related equipment and services, the department said. Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities reported at least 10 people had died in Russian attacks over the last 24 hours.
German voters cast ballots on Sunday in two state elections that could add to the political pressure on Chancellor Friedrich Merz, as his government faces growing public frustration and a resurgent far right.
Iraq has returned restricted airspace across the western part of the country to civilian authorities, ending limits imposed for military operations against Islamic State since 2016, the Transport Ministry said.
Denmark and Greenland have moved to reassure the public that their sovereignty will remain intact under a new security agreement with the United States.
World leaders are set to gather at the United Nations General Assembly in New York for several days of high-level debate, with Iran, Ukraine, artificial intelligence (AI) and a range of global crises expected to dominate discussions this week.
Ed Sheeran has broken his silence on the controversy surrounding his U.S. tour, apologising for decisions made after rapper Macklemore was removed from the line-up over his public support for Palestine.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment