|
Murphy had said in a statement on Wednesday he would not seek
re-election next year. The lawmaker had been a member of the
Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, once receiving a 92 percent score
from the conservative Family Research Council, which opposes
abortion.
There was no immediate response from Murphy's office for request
for comment on Thursday.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, citing a Jan. 25 text message, said
the woman had chastised Murphy for asking her to get an abortion
during a pregnancy scare despite his office posting an
anti-abortion statement on Facebook.
According to the newspaper, Murphy texted her in response: "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."
Murphy's extramarital affair had first been exposed in 2016
during the woman's divorce proceedings, the Post-Gazette said.
"This afternoon I received a letter of resignation from
Congressman Tim Murphy, effective October 21," Ryan said in a
statement. "It was Dr. Murphy's decision to move on to the next
chapter of his life, and I support it."
The resignation will not affect the balance of power in the
Republican-controlled House of Representatives.
Murphy, 65, who was first elected in 2002 to represent a
southwestern Pennsylvania district, had been a commander in the
U.S. Navy Reserves and is a practicing psychologist, his
office's website said.
On Wednesday, Murphy voted for passage of the Pain-Capable
Unborn Child Protection Act, which would ban women from having
abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy in most cases, according
to GovTrack, which follows congressional voting records.
(Reporting by Makini Brice; Editing by Peter Cooney)
[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
