No apology necessary to Planned Parenthood teens

There’s a weird story that’s getting national attention for some reason and it has to do with a state representative who asked high schoolers if they’re virgins.

And when put like that, I know why &#8212 but the details of the story aren’t all that bizarre.

Planned Parenthood holds an annual Teen Lobbying Day in Olympia. They bring kids to lawmakers offices to push for funding for Planned Parenthood; specifically, The Seattle Times reports the students advocated for bills that cover birth control.

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Rep. Mary Dye (R-Pomeroy) isn’t a fan of Planned Parenthood and she questioned the kids. One of the questions was whether or not the teens were virgins.

Now, Planned Parenthood is pretending that’s a wildly inappropriate question to ask teenagers, despite that it is likely one of the leading question they ask teens who come see them seeking information about sexual and reproductive health, and despite the fact that they’re coming to talk about the importance of birth control coverage.

The Planned Parenthood representative, Rachel Todd, told The Seattle Times: “I’ve never been in any type of meeting, especially with teens where an adult, especially an adult legislator, was so incredibly disrespectful and inappropriate.”

I know I’m a man and I’ll be accused of “man-splaining” &#8212 the latest tactic Progressives use to stop people from expressing opinions they disagree with &#8212 but this is over-the-top criticism by Planned Parenthood.

Rep. Dye says she went into mom-mode and wanted to talk to them about them making good choices. That is why she asked the question about whether or not their virgins. You have a mom talking to teens who are there to push for birth control. If your kid starts asking you about birth control something tells me you’ll instinctively do more than have a policy discussion.

Planned Parenthood seems more concerned that a lawmaker might judge teenage girls for having sex before they may be ready for the consequences.

Nevertheless, Rep. Dye had to apologize, especially after the story got picked up nationally. Though, she didn’t really apologize in her apology:

“I met with a local group of teenagers today who represented Planned Parenthood,” she said. “I appreciated their time and professionalism. I shared with them that I did not support the issues they were advocating for. Following a conversation they initiated on birth control for teenagers, I talked about the empowerment of women and making good choices – opinions shaped by my mother and being a mother of three daughters. In hindsight, a few of the thoughts I shared, while well-intended, may have come across as more motherly than what they would expect from their state representative. If anything I said offended them or made them feel uncomfortable, I apologize.”