“Big pro-Choice guy” Backs Proposition 4 on Los Angeles Radio

A morning talk-show host on “the most listened to news/talk station in America” who describes himself as “a big pro-choice guy” has told his listeners he will vote in favor of Proposition 4 because it takes into account “virtually every single objection the other side has been able to come up with.”

Bill Handel told listeners during his 8 a.m. “Handel Yourself in the Morning” program on KFI AM 640 news/talk radio in Los Angeles, “Am I going to vote for it? Yeah, probably. Even though I’m a big pro-choice guy, this one is so reasonably done, and it really does say, ‘Hey, parents have a right to be notified, and, if there’s any fear of parents somehow punishing you, then we have ways of dealing with that, and here they are.’”

Handel, a lawyer specializing in reproductive technology who also hosts KFI’s weekend program “Handel on the Law,” said the arguments of opponents of Proposition 4 are no longer convincing because those who crafted the measure took pains to answer objections to previous parental notification initiatives this time around.

“The proponents of this law have done a very good job of drafting into the law virtually every single objection the other side has ever been able to come up with and made it a reasonable alternative, have taken into account all the other side’s arguments and said, ‘We will take that into account and will incorporate that into the law and make sure your concerns are addressed across the board – health of the mother, being afraid of parents, judicial waivers, if you can’t reach the parents.’ I mean all of it, anything you can think of.”

Handel said Prop. 4 opponents were left with only two arguments – the “slippery slope” argument that says passage of parental notification would erode Roe vs. Wade, “which I think is a crock,” and the argument that such laws, though well-intentioned, don’t work because “in the real world” not all teens can go to their parents or families, to which Handel responded, “I don’t buy that.” Handel said those who drafted Prop. 4 have stolen the thunder of the opposition by including exceptions to cover all reasonable objections.

To hear the podcast of Handel’s comments on Proposition 4, click here.