Talking about abortion, reproductive rights.

I am a male feminist, and the issue of abortion and/or reproductive rights often comes up in my informal collegiate debates.

However, since I am at a college, the majority of the students and the majority of my friends are female.

In my experiences, it is extremely difficult for a male feminist to debate this with conservative or Republican or anti-choice young women. Because the issues of abortion and reproductive rights boil down to women’s bodies, I certainly cannot present myself as an expert or show too much empathy.

To clarify, the problem is certainly not that I want to hold back when debating with women. I go all out, tearing people’s arguments apart limb by limb. But when it comes to these issues––for which I am a strong advocate of women’s rights, but not the person who the right to choose directly affects––it’s not so simple.

These women reduce their arguments to emotional and personal appeals ("If I got pregnant, I would make sure I’m ready" or "If I was raped, I would go through with it) that hold little to no credence but are difficult to refute as a male. I don’t want it to seem like I’m telling these women what they want or need, like I’m supporting policy based off of what I think and not what they think.

Anyone have any tips or stories about how to address this issue as a male feminist?

I would love it if the answer could be to look at it the same as if I were female, but I think we can all agree that it’s not that simple

Thanks!