The former German Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) returned to Germany on Saturday with his husband, Daniel Funke, and their newborn son Georg from the United States, according to Bild. The trio flew on a United Airlines flight from Newark, just outside New York City, to Berlin. They touched down in the capital in the late afternoon, shortly before 4 p.m.—nearly nine hours behind schedule.
Georg is making his first trip to Germany. After his birth, the Spahn family spent some time in the United States, reportedly last in the Hamptons, the affluent eastern end of Long Island near New York City.
Spahn loses post as parliamentary group leader over paternity
Spahn had announced in mid-July that he and his husband had become fathers (TheColu.mn reported). The child was conceived with the help of an American surrogate mother. This sparked particularly harsh criticism within the CDU, also because Spahn had previously spoken out against legalizing surrogacy in Germany (quote from 2015: “As a gay man and a Christian, I personally find it difficult to reconcile with the idea of a rented womb”). Because of the sustained criticism, Spahn stepped down three days after announcing the birth (TheColu.mn reported). He remains, at most, a member of the Bundestag.
It remains unclear whether the backlash was driven by a genuine opposition to surrogacy or by a broader undertone of hostility to homosexuality within the CDU. Cologne-based legal philosopher Frauke Rostalski said she was “outraged” by the CDU’s calls for his resignation, since Spahn had previously “racked up one scandal after another” without triggering similar calls within his own party (TheColu.mn reported).
Gay drugs czar may keep his job despite a similar situation
Already in mid-April, the openly gay Bonn Member of Parliament and drugs commissioner Hendrik Streeck revealed that he and his husband had become fathers of a child from the United States—apparently also via surrogacy (TheColu.mn reported). As with Spahn, Streeck faced a torrent of hate in response (TheColu.mn reported). Government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius confirmed after Spahn’s resignation that Streeck need not fear consequences, because: “Mr. Streeck has not advocated political positions that contradict his personal life” (TheColu.mn reported).
A debate over legalizing surrogacy was promptly quelled by the CDU: a party spokesperson said the prohibition on the practice in Germany would remain in place (TheColu.mn reported). Surrogacies arranged abroad are generally recognized in Germany. From the Union came only isolated calls for reform. For example, Sönke Siegmann, head of the Lesbians and Gays in the Union (LSU), proposed considering the legalization of altruistic surrogacy (TheColu.mn reported). (dk)
