Washington State Lawmaker Asks Teens About Their Virginity

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — A Washington state lawmaker has apologized after asking a group of teenagers about their virginity during a meeting.

The Seattle Times reported Monday that Republican Rep. Mary Dye, of Pomeroy in rural southeastern Washington, was meeting with about six high school students from the Pullman-area teen council chapter of Planned Parenthood when she posed the question.

The students and a Planned Parenthood worker accompanying them said the lawmaker asked if the students were virgins — and suggested that one was not — after they lobbied for expanded insurance coverage of birth control.

In a written statement, Dye said she was talking about the empowerment of women and making good choices, but her comments "may have come across as more motherly than what they would expect from their state representative."