Why This Lawmaker Opposes Abortion For Everyone Except His Own Wife And Mistress | ThinkProgress

A Tennessee Republican is making headlines for voting in favor of a national abortion ban, even after pressuring the women in his own life to have legal abortions.


Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-TN) publicly opposes abortion and has repeatedly run for office as a pro-life candidate. Last week, he was one of 242 House members to vote for a proposed 20-week abortion ban that has become one of the top priorities for the current GOP-controlled Congress.

An anti-abortion Republican casting a vote in favor of an abortion restriction is not typically newsworthy. However, DesJarlais’ positions on the subject are particularly controversial, thanks to evidence that emerged in 2012 that revealed he has advocated for at least three legal abortions in his personal life.

Three years ago, transcripts related to the congressman’s divorce trial showed that DesJarlais supported his ex-wife’s decision to legally end two pregnancies. He also had several extramarital affairs, and once pressured a 24-year-old woman to have an abortion after she told him she was pregnant with his child. “You told me you’d have an abortion, and now we’re getting too far along without one,” DesJarlais told the woman in a recorded phone conversation. “If we need to go to Atlanta, or whatever, to get this solved and get it over with so we can get on with our lives, then let’s do it.”

DesJarlais’ recent vote inspired a fresh round of headlines about the apparent disconnect between his anti-choice political stance and his support for legal abortion in his personal life. According to the Chattanooga Times Free Press, the congressman’s office declined to answer questions about whether either of his ex-wife’s abortions occurred after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

The divide between DesJarlais’ public persona and private actions fits into a larger dynamic that’s been informally dubbed “the only moral abortion is my abortion” — which speaks to the fact that, when confronted with pregnancy decisions in their own lives, people who identify as pro-life sometimes end up choosing abortion anyway.

Why This Lawmaker Opposes Abortion For Everyone Except His Own Wife And Mistress | ThinkProgress