Abortion

Tim Murphy, a Pennsylvania Republican who on Thursday announced he would resign from his House seat this month after The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette published texts revealing that when Mr. Murphy’s mistress thought she was pregnant, he urged her to consider an abortion. Two days before, Mr. Murphy had voted for a bill that would ban abortion after 20 weeks on the medically dubious grounds that, at that age, a fetus can experience pain. The congressman, elected in 2002, has been praised by the Family Research Council for his stance on abortion and has been endorsed by LifePAC, which opposes abortion rights. He is also a member of the House Pro-Life Caucus, an affiliation often cited by his office.