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(LifeSiteNews) — University of Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh doubled down on his pro-life stance Saturday, sharing that he would raise the children of his players, staff, and family members if it meant they would avoid abortion.
Elaborating on pro-life statements he made on July 17, Harbaugh told ESPN this weekend that he would raise the baby of any his family or athletes if they weren’t up for taking care of the child.
“I’ve told [them] the same thing I tell my kids, boys, the girls, same thing I tell our players, our staff members. I encourage them if they have a pregnancy that wasn’t planned, to go through with it, go through with it,” Harbaugh told ESPN’s Gene Wojciechowski. “Let that unborn child be born and if at that time you don’t feel like you can care for it, you don’t have the means or the wherewithal, then Sarah and I will take that baby.”
Harbaugh recently drew media attention for his strong defense of the unborn during a Right to Life event in Plymouth, Michigan, when he said, “I believe in having the courage to let the unborn be born. I love life. I believe in having a loving care and respect for life and death. My faith and my science are what drive these beliefs in me.”
The Detroit Free Press shared that his pro-life stance is at odds with the official University of Michigan stance in support of abortion.
Asked by ESPN about those comments, Harbaugh explained, “Faith, family, football … those are my priorities. I just think that … the abortion issue is one that’s so big that it needs to be talked about. It needs serious conversation.”
“It’s a life-or-death type of issue,” he continued. “And I believe in, and I respect, people’s views. But let’s hear them. Let’s discuss them because there’s passion on both sides of this issue. So when you combine that with respect, that’s when the best results come. … [I’m] just contributing to that conversation and that communication, which I think is really important, in my opinion.”
The past month is not the first time Harbaugh has spoken out in defense of the unborn. In a 2020 interview with the National Review, he spoke of the COVID-19 outbreak as an opportunity of grace from God, during which he observed people were more “concerned about others,” more “prayerful,” and more conscious about the “sanctity of life.”
“I don’t think it’s coincidence, personally, living a faith-based life,” Harbaugh said. “This is a message — this is something where, a time we grow in our faith. Having reverence and respect for God. 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.”
He went on, “We talk about sanctity of life, yet we live in a society that aborts babies. There can’t be anything more horrendous.”