Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.) asked his extramarital affair partner to get an abortion, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported Tuesday. Murphy, who enjoys support from pro-life groups like the Family Research Council and LifePAC, apparently made the request earlier this year of Shannon Edwards, a "personal friend" with whom Murphy admitted to an extramarital relationship last month.
Edwards sent Murphy a text message on Jan. 25 of this year, the Post-Gazette reported, taking issue with his pro-life posturing in the public eye considering he'd asked her to terminate a pregnancy. "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," Edwards wrote, per the paper. Murphy apparently replied, saying his staff manages his social media. "I read [the posts] and winced," he wrote. "I told staff don't write anymore."
Murphy is a member of the House Pro-Life Caucus. His office told NBC News: "The office has no comment or response to the story." Edwards declined to comment to the Post-Gazette on the story. The pregnancy scare Edwards was referring to apparently turned out to be unfounded.
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The House is voting Tuesday on a bill that would ban abortions after 20 weeks except in cases of incest or where the mother's life is at risk; Murphy co-sponsored the bill. Read more on Murphy's alleged abortion request at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and see the congressman's staunchly pro-life voting record here.
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