Hendrik Streeck: The second surrogacy case in the CDU?
Jens Spahn's case has shaken the CDU. But another prominent party politician has already come under criticism for a possible surrogacy.
The resignation of Jens Spahn as leader of the Union parliamentary group has sparked a heated debate in the CDU about surrogacy and political credibility. However, Spahn is not the first prominent CDU member of the Bundestag whose family planning has been linked to a possible surrogacy in the USA: as early as spring, the case of virologist, CDU politician, and Federal Government Commissioner for Addiction and Drug Issues, Hendrik Streeck, was publicly discussed.
Streeck and his husband Paul Zubeil confirmed in April that they had become parents of a son. "We are overjoyed from the bottom of our hearts about the birth of our son. Suddenly there is a whole new meaning in our lives," Streeck told the magazine "Bunte" at the time. According to reports, the child was born in the US state of Idaho.
Streeck did not comment on surrogacy
Unlike Spahn, however, Streeck did not disclose how the child was born. Several media outlets reported that the boy was carried by a surrogate mother. There has been no confirmation from Streeck or his husband to date.
Nevertheless, Streeck was sharply attacked at the time. Critics accused him of using a method abroad that is forbidden in Germany. Former CDU member of the Bundestag Sylvia Pantel spoke in a guest article of a possible "circumvention" of German rules.
CDU maintains its no
Politically, both cases touch on the same conflict. Spahn had come under heavy criticism because he and his husband Daniel Funke had become parents with the help of a surrogate mother in the USA.
Surrogacy is prohibited in Germany, while it is permitted under certain conditions in parts of the USA. The CDU had reaffirmed its rejection of legalization at a party conference as recently as early 2026. Unlike Spahn, Streeck had not publicly expressed opposition to surrogacy—generally, no public statements by him on the topic are known, including in the Spahn case.
In Spahn's case, the contradiction between party position and private decision ultimately led to massive pressure from his own ranks. The CDU politician resigned on Saturday after only 14 months as chairman of the Union parliamentary group.
In recent days, he said, it had become clear to him that the desire to start a family and become a father with his husband "is not compatible with my political office." The balancing act between his "private decision to have a child through surrogacy" and the expectations of him as parliamentary group leader had become "greater than I would have expected," according to his resignation letter. Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) described the step as "right" and "inevitable" and stated: "Credibility is the highest good in politics."
Streeck worked closely with Spahn during the Corona period
Hendrik Streeck has been a member of the CDU since 2017 and has been in the Bundestag for the party since 2025. Since the end of May last year, he has been the Federal Government Commissioner for Addiction and Drug Issues.
He became known to the public primarily as a virologist and advisor to the federal government during the Corona pandemic, where he also worked closely with then Health Minister Spahn.
