WA senator sparks fury with description of 40-year-old law limiting parental rights

State Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen didn’t foresee the furor that would erupt over his description of a four-decade-old Washington law limiting parental power.

“Kids over 13 have the complete right to make their own decisions about their mental health care,” the Seattle Democrat told a Fox News reporter during a Feb. 5 television interview. “Parents don’t have a right to have notice, they don’t have a right to have consent about that.”

Two days later, that clip went viral on X, drawing millions of views on the social media platform, and eventually becoming the top item trending nationally. Even Elon Musk, who owns X and is serving as a top adviser to President Donald Trump, got engaged.

But the soundbite wasn’t the whole story and Pedersen says his remarks were pulled out of context. The flareup comes amid a Democratic-led effort to make changes to a parental “bill of rights” measure the Washington Legislature approved last year.

On Monday, in an interview with the Standard, Pedersen said it was the first time that “somebody deliberately edited my comments to mislead.” 

“I think I won’t be accepting interview requests from Fox News anymore,” he said.

Dan Springer, the Fox News correspondent who interviewed Pedersen, rejected the idea that the senator’s comments had been misrepresented.

“Senator Pedersen is being completely dishonest. His response to my question was a defense of the Democrats’ actions by paraphrasing the law in Washington state which says parents are not entitled to be notified if their 13-year-old child receives mental health treatment or if their daughter of any age seeks an abortion,” Springer said in an email. “His sound bite was not edited.”

The full quote

A transcript of the interview provided by Pedersen’s staff shows he offered a lengthier response when asked: “Where do you come down on the right of parents to know what they want to know about their child’s academic life, their health care, everything.”

“If it’s about their mental health care, we’ve drawn a line I think at age 13 in the statute and say that kids over 13 have the complete right to make their own decisions about their mental health care,” Pedersen replied. “Parents don’t have a right to have notice, they don’t have a right to have consent about that.”

Pedersen was referring to a Washington law concerning behavioral health services for minors that dates back to 1985.

The law defines an adolescent as “a minor thirteen years of age or older.” And it says “an adolescent may admit himself or herself to an evaluation and treatment facility for inpatient mental health treatment or an approved substance use disorder treatment program for inpatient substance use disorder treatment without parental consent.” 

The same law lets minors leave this treatment when they want to as well.

The interview occurred hours before the Senate passed the controversial Senate Bill 5181 that retrofits provisions of the citizen initiative establishing the parental bill of rights. Democrats approved the bill over opposition from Republicans, who argued the changes undercut the intent of the original measure.

The Senate bill is now headed to the House where Republicans are prepping for another round in the fight.

Abortion comment

Republicans in Washington fueled the social media firestorm on Pedersen’s comments.

Some who weighed in online kept it political. Others got personal. Pedersen and his husband have four children and he said the attacks are taking a toll on his family.

“I signed up for this. I’m not going to be too upset,” he said. 

“The hardest part is the effect that it has on my husband and my kids. My kids are reading about how I bought my twins in San Diego on the black market. I don’t have twins. I have triplets,” he added. “They were born in San Diego so they got that right.”

Some commenters seemed aghast at the state law Pedersen referenced. 

What Pedersen said in another televised clip from the interview about parents and pregnant children stoked further outrage.

“If they’re old enough to get pregnant, they’re old enough to make their own decisions about what happens with their bodies, and parents do not have the right to change that,” is what aired.

Pedersen’s full response: “When you’re talking about a young person’s health care, it’s a lot more complicated, right? Young women, if they’re old enough to get pregnant, they’re old enough to make their own decisions about what happens with their bodies, and parents do not have the right to change that or make a different decision or be notified in advance.”

Again, he was stating what’s written into Washington state law. Abortion is legal, people of any age can choose to have one and they don’t need consent from a parent, guardian, or partner. 

Republican perspective

Rep. Travis Couture, R-Allyn, was among those who responded critically to Pedersen’s remarks.

He made the case that the definition of “‘mental health care’ has radically changed” since the 1980s. “What once meant talk therapy and substance abuse counseling has now expanded to include gender-affirming medical treatments, psychiatric medications, and reproductive services,” Couture posted Sunday on X.

“Washington parents do not co-parent with the government, and the state does not own our kids,” he added. “It is time Democrats in Olympia cease promoting policies that keep secrets from parents about their kids, and stop promoting radical policies that could irreversibly harm children without parental knowledge or consent.”

Editor’s note: This story was updated to include a comment from the Fox News journalist who conducted the interview with Pedersen.