A conservative German MP, father of a child born through surrogacy, is being called upon to resign.

The leader of the German conservative MPs, Jens Spahn, is under attack from within his own party for having a child with his husband through surrogacy in the United States, a practice banned in Germany.

Mr. Spahn, chairman of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's CDU/CSU parliamentary group, must resign for having "deliberately flouted German law," according to a regional CDU official, Daniel Peters, speaking to the Bild newspaper on Friday.

Mr. Peters considers the discrepancy between his actions in private and the fact that he "votes differently as a Member of Parliament" to be "totally unacceptable".

Jens Spahn's husband announced on social media on Wednesday the birth of their son Georg, specifying to Bild that he was born to a surrogate mother in the United States.

"She is now an integral part of the family and will accompany Georg throughout his life," the couple told Bild.

Asked on Friday during a joint press conference with Emmanuel Macron, the German Chancellor said that the subject would be "discussed at the next meeting of the CDU presidium".

He further indicated that he saw no reason to change the law, nor the position of his party which opposes surrogacy.

He had previously simply dodged questions on the subject, stating that he had been informed by the MP a few days before the birth of his son and had "congratulated" him.

Surrogacy is prohibited in Germany, although since 2014 the courts have recognized legally established parentage abroad in certain circumstances.

Voices are being raised to denounce the "double standards" behavior of the MP, who did not campaign for the legalization of surrogacy in Germany.

His party, the CDU, had decided last February to maintain the ban on surrogacy, at a time when the surrogate mother was already four months pregnant, according to Bild.

The chairman of the CDU's older voters' group, Hubert Hüppe, told Der Spiegel magazine that he was "personally shocked" by the politician's lifestyle choice, despite the party's "clear position" on the issue.

In 2020, when he was Minister of Health, Jens Spahn even rejected the repeal of the ban on surrogacy.

The controversy extends beyond the CDU. The Green Party leader Felix Banaszak has asked him for explanations, while the government commissioner for the acceptance of sexual diversity, Sophie Koch (SPD), has called on Mr. Spahn to support a reform of parentage law.

For lesbian couples, only the woman giving birth is automatically recognized as the mother, according to current legislation.

AFP