On Tuesday, the GOP-led House passed a bill that would ban abortions after 20 weeks. The legislation isn’t expected to survive the Senate, but it shall inevitably fuel the next wave of pro-life interests in Congress. One of the men who voted in favor of the bill, Rep. Tim Murphy, was roundly called out for hypocrisy following reports that he pressured a woman to have an abortion earlier this year. That lady happened to be his mistress/lover, and after a solid 24 hours of scandal, Murphy has made the call to retire.
In disgrace! Actually, Murphy’s not leaving yet, but the congressman from Pennsylvania has announced that he will not seek reelection in 2018. The New York Times reports that Murphy, who has been bringing his conservative bent to the House since 2003, made the decision in part after “discussions with his family.” While that’s a predictable detail, here’s his 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.”
A few months ago, the very-married Murphy admitted to cheating (since 2016) on his wife with a woman named Shannon Edwards, whose own divorce records — for whatever reason — were unsealed by a court and spilled the tea. At the time, Murphy told reporters, “To the extent that there should be any blame in this matter, it falls solely upon me.”
That wasn’t the end of the story, however. Following the House vote on the 20-week abortion ban, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported on text messages from Edwards to Murphy. Within the texts, Edwards slammed Murphy for pushing his pro-life agenda in Congress while also pressuring her to get an abortion when the lovers (mistakenly) believed she was pregnant.
With all of that out in the open, Murphy faced little choice but to shuffle off into the congressional sunset with his dirty-dog tail between his legs.
(Via CNN, New York Times & Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)