KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When the Missouri House in 2019 debated the bill that became the state’s abortion ban, then-state Rep. Bryan Spencer quickly raised — and praised — the proposal’s lack of exceptions for victims of rape and incest.
Spencer, a Wentzville Republican and a high school teacher, recounted how he allowed his students to talk about issues, including abortion, in class. By his own account, he used to oppose abortion except in cases of rape or incest.
But Spencer said his view changed after an encounter with an upset student following on such classroom discussion of abortion. “‘My mother was raped by my uncle and I’m the baby,’” Spencer said the student told him.
