Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh at pro-life event: ‘Have the courage to let the unborn be born’

University of Michigan football head coach Jim Harbaugh spoke against abortion, arguing in favor of pregnancies being carried to term, at a pro-life charity dinner in Plymouth, Mich., according to Detroit Catholic, the news service of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit. 

“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,” he said. “To me, the right choice is to have the courage to let the unborn be born.” 

Harbaugh said he has been against abortion since he was young, and those views inform his relationship with his children and players and staff at the University of Michigan. 

His comments come as more than a dozen states have banned or severely restricted abortion rights after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last month. 

He said he recognizes that not everyone agrees with his views, but people should be clear about their beliefs and why they hold them. 

“Passions can make the process messy, but when combined with respect, it ultimately produces the best outcomes,” he said. “This process has been passionate and messy, but I have faith in the American people to ultimately develop the right policies and laws for all lives involved. I recognize one’s personal thinking regarding morality of a particular action may differ from their thinking on whether government should make that action illegal.” 

Harbaugh said the government allows certain actions that might be immoral because there is a greater good or personal right, but he believes abortion is a different case. 

He said the rights of the mother and the unborn may be in conflict, with one outcome possibly causing an “incredible hardship” for the mother, family and society. But he also said the life of the unborn should take priority. 

Harbaugh has spoken in opposition to abortion in the past, calling the procedure “horrendous” in 2020, according to the Detroit Free Press.