Germans divided 41-39 percent on surrogacy ban, 21 percent undecided, after Jens Spahn resignation
A snap Insa poll shows 41% think the ban is wrong and 39% right, while 21% are undecided, as CDU's Spahn steps down over his own surrogacy abroad.
A longstanding prohibition on surrogacy in Germany is under fresh scrutiny after the resignation of CDU/CSU parliamentary group leader Jens Spahn. Spahn stepped down on Saturday following a storm of outrage within his conservative party after it emerged that he and his husband had become parents to a son, Georg, born via a surrogate in the United States. The arrangement bypassed a German ban that Spahn had previously helped to uphold, prompting immediate calls for a political reckoning.
What the numbers show
The case has reignited a debate that splits the country down the middle, according to a snap poll by the Insa institute for Bild newspaper. Conducted from 17 to 20 July with 1,004 respondents and a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, the survey found that 41 percent of Germans consider the ban on surrogacy to be wrong, while 39 percent think it is right. An unusually high 21 percent gave no answer or said they did not know.
- Ban wrong
- 41
- Ban right
- 39
- Don't know / no answer
- 21
How party supporters line up
The division follows familiar political contours, but with notable cross-currents. Among supporters of the CDU/CSU, 47 percent back the ban, as do 48 percent of SPD voters. Opposition to the prohibition is strongest among FDP voters at 49 percent, followed by 47 percent of Die Linke supporters and 42 percent of AfD voters. Green Party voters are evenly split, with 43 percent on each side. A similar near-even split appears among BSW voters, where 30 percent consider the ban right and 32 percent wrong.
Political reactions and limited appetite for reform
Green parliamentary leader Britta Haßelmann used the moment to demand a renewed engagement with questions of reproductive medicine. However, leading CDU voices indicated that the party is unlikely to revisit its position soon. CDU deputy leader and education minister Karin Prien pointed out that the party had only hardened its stance in February, when a party conference resolution declared that not only commercial surrogacy but also so-called altruistic surrogacy, without payment, was incompatible with CDU values.
Asked whether she could imagine the CDU changing its position in the near future, Prien said: "I can hardly imagine it." She added a personal reflection.
That must be incredibly difficult. I honestly cannot imagine it personally.
Prien, herself a mother of three, noted the deep bond that forms during nine months of pregnancy, suggesting that the emotional dynamics make surrogacy a deeply contested issue.
The resignation of Spahn, a high-profile figure in the CDU, has left the party scrambling to contain the fallout at a time when public opinion offers no clear mandate for either tightening or abandoning the existing ban.
