An anti-abortion congressman asked a woman with whom he was having an extramarital affair to get an abortion when he thought she might be pregnant, a newspaper reported Tuesday.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said it obtained text messages between Republican U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy of Pennsylvania and Shannon Edwards, a forensic psychologist.
A message from January 25 from Edwards said the congressman had ‘zero issue posting your pro-life stance all over the place when you had no issue asking me to abort our unborn child just last week when we thought that was one of the options,’ according to the paper.
U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy (pictured here in April 2014) has been accused by Shannon Edwards of asking her to abort their unborn child, despite being an advocate of the pro-life movement
A text message from Murphy’s number in response said the staff was responsible for his anti-abortion messages: ‘I’ve never written them. Staff does them. I read them and winced. I told staff don’t write any more.’
Edwards, it turned out, wasn’t pregnant. Murphy’s spokeswoman had no comment on the report.
The revelation came as the House on Tuesday approved Republican legislation that would make it a crime to perform an abortion after 20 weeks of fetal development.
A message from January 25 from Shannon Edwards (his mistress) said the congressman had ‘zero issue posting your pro-life stance all over the place when you had no issue asking me to abort our unborn child just last week when we thought that was one of the options,’ according to the The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Murphy, a member of the House Pro-Life Caucus, is among its co-sponsors. He avoided the media in Washington after voting for the legislation, and efforts by reporters to talk to him were unsuccessful.
NARAL Pro-Choice America quickly criticized ‘the height of hypocrisy’ displayed by Murphy’s support for the legislation.
‘You shouldn’t have to be a member of Congress just to access your right to abortion,’ said Sasha Bruce, a vice president for the pro-abortion rights group.
In the past the US congressman has been applauded by the Family Research Council for his views on abortion.
The H.R. 7 bill was passed by congress in January, which states the use of federal funds to pay for abortions will be permanently prohibited.
The law also states that federal medical facilities and health professionals aren’t allowed to provide abortion services.
‘I proudly sponsored and voted for this important bill to clearly stand for the dignity and value of all human life, both the born and the unborn,’ said Murphy.
‘Passage of H.R. 7 in the wake of the President’s executive action gives me great hope we will once again be a nation committed to honoring life and ensuring American taxpayer dollars are never spent to end a life before it even begins.’
Murphy admitted to having an affair with ‘friend’ Shannon Edwards (pictured left), while he was married to wife Nanette Missig (pictured right) Edwards has now said that pro-life advocate Murphy asked her to get an abortion
Murphy recently acknowledged his affair with Edwards, which became public as a result of her divorce proceedings.
In a press statement he said: ‘Last year I became involved in an affair with a personal friend. This is nobody’s fault but my own, and I offer no excuses. To the extent that there should be any blame in this matter, it falls solely upon me.
‘I ask the media to respect the privacy of my family. They have done nothing wrong and deserve to be left alone,’ the statement added.
The Pennsylvania politician has served eight-terms in congress, is married and has an adult daughter. Edwards, 32, is a practicing psychologist and performs evaluations of defendants for the Allegheny County court system.