Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Tim Murphy, who reportedly encouraged a woman with whom he admitted to having an affair with to have an abortion, won’t seek re-election, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
The Post-Gazette reported that the GOP lawmaker, a member of the House Pro-Life Caucus, admitted last month to having an extramarital affair with Shannon Edwards, 32, a forensic psychologist in Pittsburgh.
In a series of text messages obtained by the Post-Gazette, Edwards criticized Murphy for a pro-life statement posted on his official Facebook page.
“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,” Edwards wrote to Murphy in a January text, amid what the Post-Gazette called “an unfounded pregnancy scare.”
Murphy appeared to acknowledge the claim, writing in response, “I get what you say about my [March for Life] messages.”
“I’ve never written them,” he added. “Staff does them. I read them and winced. I told staff don’t write any more. I will.”
After the report’s publication, many characterized Murphy as a hypocrite for privately disavowing his public pro-life position.
Murphy, 65, is married and has an adult daughter.
In a statement to Pittsburgh’s KDKA-TV following the Post-Gazette’s report, Murphy said he has “come to the decision that I will not seek re-election to Congress at the end of my current term.”
He said he wants to spend his remaining time in office “on mental health care reform, as well as issues affecting working families in southwestern Pennsylvania.”
“In the coming weeks, I will take personal time to seek help as my family and I continue to work through our personal difficulties and seek healing,” he added. “I ask you to respect our privacy during this time.”
