Pro-life congressman Scott DesJarlais pressured mistress into getting abortion

July 31, 2016

By Amy Silverstein

Every fetus must be protected, unless it comes from your side chick. That seems to be the message endorsed by Scott DesJarlais, a doctor who had an affair with a patient and pressured her into getting an abortion before becoming a pro-life, Tea Party-backed congressman, a secret recording reveals.

A transcript of the recording and other court documents relating to DesJarlais' divorce were obtained by the Huffington Post. In a transcript of a phone call made in Spring 2000, Rep. Scott DesJarlais, R-Tenn, reveals to his mistress that he is desperately trying to save his marriage. He repeatedly asks her to get her pregnancy problem "solved" or "fixed." Sources told the Post that DesJarlais had made the recording himself (if true, he probably regrets that).

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"You told me you'd have an abortion, and now we're getting too far along without one," DesJarlais tells the woman at one point, according to the Post. She then asks him to come with her to when she gets the procedure, and he responds that he "will try."

DesJarlais, a freshman congressman who defeated Democratic Rep. Lincoln Davis in 2010, officially opposes abortion, the Associated Press reported. "All life should be cherished and protected. We are pro-life," his website says. DesJarlais has not denied the validity of a transcript, but said in a statement to the AP that his opponents are engaging in "gutter politics."

DesJarlais is currently seeking a second term as representative in Tennessee's 4th Congressional District, Knoxville News reported.

According to the Digital Journal, DesJarlais has co-sponsored a number of anti-abortion laws, including the Life at Conception Act, which declares that "the right to life guaranteed by the Constitution is vested in each human being beginning at the moment of fertilization."