Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.) is being called a hypocrite after leaked information reveals he urged his mistress to get an abortion in January, even though he is a prominent anti-abortion supporter.
Murphy, who voted in favor of the House passing H.R. 36 (Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act), has been endorsed by many “pro-life” organizations throughout his political career, like the Family Research Council.
In documents obtained by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette—where the initial affair story between him and Dr. Shannon Edwards broke—Murphy received a text from Edwards one day after posting his opinion on late-term abortions to his public Facebook account.
A reply from Murphy’s number that same day says, “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 representative has yet to make a statement on these documents, however various Twitter users are holding nothing back, especially since the news broke while H.R. 36 was on the House floor.
UPDATE: Rep. Tim Murphy voted yes on the abortion ban.
— Caroline Orr Bueno, Ph.D (@RVAwonk) October 3, 2017
….because abortion is bad unless your mistress gets pregnant.#HR36 https://t.co/PO922Krevt
Tim Murphy believes abortion should be illegal except in rare cases of rape, incest or his mistress getting knocked up.
— Jeet Heer (@HeerJeet) October 3, 2017
https://twitter.com/mattyglesias/status/915313635060277250
H.R. 36 would ban abortions after 20 weeks, with the exception of rape, incest, or a life-threatening situation to the mother. Anyone who chooses to perform an abortion after this time period would be penalized with a monetary fine or jail time.
With a vote of 237-189, including a vote from Murphy, the act passed the House on Tuesday.