Jim Harbaugh and his wife, Sarah, attended an anti-abortion fundraiser in Plymouth, Michigan, over the weekend where the Michigan football coach supported the sentiment that carrying a pregnancy to term is “the right choice.”
Harbaugh’s comments were a part of his “pro-life testimony” as a guest speaker at the Plymouth Right to Life event which included Father John Riccardo of the Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church. Harbaugh, a Catholic himself, spoke on his pro-life beliefs that were instilled in him at a young age by his parents.
“I love life,” Harbaugh said, per the Detroit Catholic. “I believe in having a loving care and respect for life and death. My faith and my science are what drives these beliefs in me.”
Harbaugh went more in depth with his beliefs in front of the crowd as well:
“In God’s plan, each unborn human truly has a future filled with potential, talent, dreams and love,” Harbaugh said. “I have living proof in my family, my children, and the many thousands that I’ve coached that the unborn are amazing gifts from God to make this world a better place.
“To me, the right choice is to have the courage to let the unborn be born.”
Harbaugh’s comments come in the wake of a monumental Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade (1973), which removed the widespread legal protection granted to women seeking an abortion. The state of Michigan itself is one of several states that have unenforced pre-Roe abortion bans — with Michigan’s 1931 law currently on hold as a result of a state judge’s injunction — making it a largely contested issue within the state’s governance.
Harbaugh has not shied away from controversial topics in the past, addressing both the murder of George Floyd and the National Anthem protests of his former quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, publicly. And while Harbaugh’s headfirst approach to addressing those contested topics hasn’t changed, neither has his stance on the abortion discussion.
In 2020, Harbaugh spoke on a podcast with Jay Nordlinger, senior editor of the National Review magazine, about how the pandemic allowed society a new perspective on life.
“This is a message — this is something where, a time, we grow in our faith, having reverence and respect for God.” Harbaugh said. “You see people taking more a view of sanctity of life. I hope that continues — and not just in this time of crisis or pandemic.
“We talk about sanctity of life, yet we live in a society that aborts babies. There can’t be anything more horrendous.”
Harbaugh was also joined at the event by Michigan linebackers coach George Helow, according to the Detroit Catholic.
While it is not a recent development that Harbaugh is pro-life, his comments now carry more weight than before. With the right to choose sitting in political limbo, Harbaugh has made it clear which side of the line he stands.