Amid affair scandal, GOP congressman announces retirement

Amid allegations that he suggested the woman he was having an affair with get an abortion, Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.) announced Wednesday he will retire when his term is up.

"I plan to spend my remaining months in office continuing my work as the national leader on mental health-care reform, as well as issues affecting working families in southwestern Pennsylvania," he said in a statement. "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. I ask you to respect our privacy during this time."

The married congressman admitted in September he had an affair with Shannon Edwards, a forensic psychologist, Politico reports. On Tuesday, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that in January, Edwards thought she was pregnant and had an angry text message exchange with Murphy. Edwards accused Murphy of having "zero issue posting your pro-life stance all over the place" after he asked her "to abort our unborn child just last week when we thought that was one of the options." Her text came after Murphy, a member of the House Pro-Life Caucus, posted a message on Facebook about his anti-abortion views.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up