Republican congressman Tim Murphy, popular with pro-life movement groups for his tough stance on the issue, could be in a heap of trouble if the revelations posted in the Pittsburgh Gazette ring true.
It would appear that the congressman urged his mistress, Ms Shannon Edwards, a forensic psychologist from Pittsburgh, to obtain an abortion of their unborn child, at least that is what is to be understood from Ms Edwards text to him: "And you have 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."
The revelation comes just as the House is set to vote on Republican legislation that would make it a crime to perform an abortion after 20 weeks of fetal development.
Congressman Murphy, a member of the House Pro-Life Caucus, is among the co-sponsors of the bill. He’s been avoiding the media after the revelations came out.
In response to the message from Ms Edwards, Mr. Murphy’s cell phone number responded "I get what you say about my March for life messages. I've never written them. Staff does them. I read them and winced. I told staff don't write any more. I will."
The Republican congressman has repeatedly been applauded by the Family Research Council for his principal stance on abortion. He was endorsed by LifePAC, which opposes abortion rights and on top of this is a member of the House Pro-Life Caucus, something his staff is keen on repeating in every press release which he puts out.
NARAL Pro-Choice America was quick to criticize Mr Murphy’s support for the bill upon these revelations coming out. They called it “the height of hypocrisy”.
Sasha Bruce, a spokesperson of the pro-abortion rights group, said: “You shouldn’t have to be a member of Congress just to access your right to abortion.”
Congressman Murphy has acknowledged his extramarital affair with Ms Edwards. He is currently serving his eighth term in southwestern Pennsylvania.
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