{"id":2401793,"date":"2025-02-12T11:45:01","date_gmt":"2025-02-12T16:45:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wa-senator-insists-controversial-remarks-on-parents-rights-taken-out-of-context-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2025-02-12T11:46:07","modified_gmt":"2025-02-12T16:46:07","slug":"wa-senator-insists-controversial-remarks-on-parents-rights-taken-out-of-context-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wa-senator-insists-controversial-remarks-on-parents-rights-taken-out-of-context-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"WA senator insists controversial remarks on parents\u2019 rights taken out of context &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwa-senator-insists-controversial-remarks-on-parents-rights-taken-out-of-context-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2401793&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Washington State \u200cSenate Majority Leader Jamie\u200d Pedersen has defended \u2063his\u200b recent comments about minors&#8217;\u2064 rights to make healthcare decisions without \u2062parental \u200cconsent. In \u2062a \u200bFox News interview, \u2063he stated that\u200d children aged 13 and older have the \u200bright to make \u200btheir own <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/washingtons-new-law-blocks-parents-from-children-who-wish-to-transition\/\" title=\"New ... ... Prevents ... from Interfering with Children&#039;s Transition.\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-releases-list-of-president-trumps-accomplishments-and-it-is-historic\/\" title=\"White House Releases List of President Trump\u2019s Accomplishments \u2013  And It Is Historic!\">mental health care<\/a> decisions<\/a> without parental notification\u200b or consent. These remarks have gone viral, \u2062prompting criticism from Republican\u200b lawmakers who argue that \u2064such autonomy undermines parental rights and could lead to increased\u200d parental withdrawal from public schools. Pedersen clarified that his comments\u200d were taken out of context and were intended to reference existing washington state law, which\u200b allows minors this autonomy in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/california-introduces-bill-to-decriminalize-psychedelic-drugs\/\" title=\"California Introduces ... To Decriminalize Psychedelic Drugs\">mental health treatment<\/a>. This discussion is\u2063 occurring\u200c as the state \u200dSenate considers senate Bill 5181, which \u200dseeks to modify a\u2062 previously adopted parents&#8217; rights bill. Pedersen stands\u2064 by \u2064the law and his statements, while Republican leaders express concerns over the implications of the bill and the erosion of\u200c parental rights. A rally advocating for parents&#8217; rights \u200cis also \u200cplanned\u2063 in response to this legislation.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">WA senator insists controversial remarks on parents&rsquo; rights taken out of context<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1991491\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>(The Center Square) &ndash; Washington State Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, is standing by comments he made last week to a Fox News reporter about 13-year-old children making their own <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/tennessee-introduces-bill-allowing-fathers-to-prevent-an-abortion\/\" title=\"Tennessee Introduces ... Allowing Fathers To Prevent An Abortion\">health care decisions<\/a> without parents&rsquo; knowledge or consent.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Pedersen&rsquo;s comments went viral, drawing millions of views and reposts on social media. Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency under President Donald Trump, even got involved in a social media exchange over the quote.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Kids over 13 have the complete right to make their own decisions about their mental health care,&rdquo; Pedersen&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/i\/trending\/1888764814266142915\">said<\/a><\/strong>&nbsp;during a Feb. 5 television interview. &ldquo;Parents don&rsquo;t have a right to have notice, they don&rsquo;t have a right to have consent about that.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>He made the comments related to majority party Democrats backing legislation,&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/app.leg.wa.gov\/BillSummary\/?BillNumber=5181&amp;Year=2025&amp;Initiative=false\">Senate Bill 5181<\/a><\/strong>, that would essentially gut a parents&rsquo; bill of rights adopted by lawmakers during the 2024 session following voters&rsquo; sending&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/letsgowashington.com\/i-2081\/\">Initiative 2081<\/a><\/strong>&nbsp;to the Legislature.<\/p>\n<p>SB 5181 passed the full Senate last week. It now heads to the House, where Republicans who unanimously oppose it are gearing up for battle.<\/p>\n<p>Pedersen says his comments to Fox News were taken out of context.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I stand by what I said,&rdquo; he told The Center Square during a Tuesday&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/tvw.org\/video\/legislative-democratic-leaders-media-availability-2025021191\/?eventID=2025021191\">media availability event<\/a><\/strong>. &ldquo;What I said was you can&rsquo;t amend a law in our state without amending the law.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>According to Pedersen, the way the comment was edited made it sound like his own personal opinion when he was simply stating what the law says.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;In that Fox interview, I said we have an existing state law that provides young people over the age of 13 the right to make mental healthcare decisions without the knowledge or consent of their parents,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Fox News chose to edit my comments and remove the reference and edit my comments by clipping it midsentence.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Pedersen was referencing a 1985&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/leg.wa.gov\/CodeReviser\/documents\/sessionlaw\/1985c354.pdf?cite=1985%20c%20354%20s%203\">state law<\/a><\/strong>, RCW 71.34.530, allowing adolescents 13 and older to <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">seek outpatient mental health treatment<\/a> without parental consent.&nbsp;The law also allows adolescents to leave treatment at any time.<\/p>\n<p>He was then pressed to answer if he personally supports children as young as 13 having autonomy over health care decisions without parental knowledge or consent.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;My personal opinion is that that has been decided for more than 40 years by the Democratic process in the state of Washington,&rdquo; Pedersen replied. &ldquo;That is the law in Washington.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>He went on to explain that Republicans have repeatedly brought bills trying to change the law to require parental consent for abortion.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;That bill does not enjoy the majority of support in the Legislature,&rdquo; Pedersen noted.<\/p>\n<p>Pedersen said backers of I-2081 used &ldquo;sneaky&rdquo; language to try and get around having to amend state law.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just laughable,&rdquo; he added.<\/p>\n<p>Republicans are not convinced.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The state shouldn&rsquo;t be involved in this,&rdquo; Rep. Travis Couture, R-Allyn, told The Center Square on Tuesday. &ldquo;The U.S. Supreme Court has decided over and over again that parents have a 14th&nbsp;Amendment right for the total upbringing of their children unless there&rsquo;s abuse or neglect. Washington state is going in the wrong direction.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Couture was among several Republican lawmakers whose reposts helped Pedersen&rsquo;s comments to Fox News blow up on social media.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Where local media is not covering things or covering things up and aiding and abetting the people in power, social media is filling that gap,&rdquo; Couture observed.<\/p>\n<p>If SB 5181 does ultimately pass, Couture said he believes more parents will pull their children from public schools in Washington.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I think if they do pass this bill to gut the parents&rsquo; bill of rights, it is the last straw for many parents and for taxpayers who don&rsquo;t like what they&rsquo;re investing in,&rdquo; the legislator said.<\/p>\n<p>Couture went to say, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to go quietly into the good night. I&rsquo;m going to be fighting this until the bitter end, and I&rsquo;m an optimist, so I believe I can defeat it.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Republican leadership weighed in during their Tuesday&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/tvw.org\/video\/legislative-republican-leadership-media-availability-2025021190\/?eventID=2025021190\">media availability event<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;What Sen. Pedersen said should shock people,&rdquo; Rep. Chris Corry, R-Yakima, said. &ldquo;That we even have that level of autonomy for children in our state is insane.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Minority Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, said the bill that passed the Senate is divisive.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It breaks the bond between parents and school districts, and it undermines trust in our public education system,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;This is bad for kids, bad for parents, bad for school districts, and bad for Washington if they pass this.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Let&rsquo;s Go Washington, the group behind I-2081, along with the Washington State Republican Party and the Family Policy Institute of Washington, are holding a &ldquo;Fight for Parents&rsquo; Rights&rdquo; rally at noon on Saturday, Feb. 15, on the north steps of the State Capitol in Olympia.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1991491\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1991491\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WA senator defends remarks on minors&#8217; health care rights<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2401794,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/AP21292588532874-1024x683.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[49826,49798,50257,50256,32076],"class_list":["post-2401793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-controversial-remarks","tag-parents-rights","tag-political-context","tag-wa-senator","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/AP21292588532874-1024x683.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2401793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2401793"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2401793\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2401797,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2401793\/revisions\/2401797"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2401794"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2401793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2401793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2401793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}