Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh doubled down in a recent interview with ESPN after discussing his stance at an anti-abortion event July 17. During the interview, Harbaugh said if someone in his family or program was involved in an unplanned pregnancy and they didn’t want the baby, he and his wife would take it.
“Let’s discuss it,” Harbaugh told ESPN’s Gene Wojciechowski. “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. 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’s wife, Sarah, also spoke at last week’s Plymouth Right to Life event in Plymouth, Mich.
“It’s a life-or-death type of issue. And I believe in, and I respect, people’s views,” Harbaugh said. “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.”
After last week’s event, the Michigan coach’s comments took over the news cycle.
“I believe in having the courage to let the unborn be born,” Harbaugh said at the event, per the Detroit Catholic. “I love life. 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.”
In June, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, sending the decision back to individual states on whether abortion is legal, leading to a nationwide debate on the matter.
Harbaugh, who is Catholic, said his beliefs were instilled in him by his parents.
“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,” he said. “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. There are many things one may hold to be immoral, but the government appropriately allows because of some greater good or personal or constitutional right.
“Ultimately, I don’t believe that is the case with abortion,” Harbaugh continued. “Yes, there are conflicts between the legitimate rights of the mother and the rights of the unborn child. One resolution might involve incredible hardship for the mother, family and society. Another results in the death of an unborn person.”
During the Q&A portion of the event, Harbaugh was asked whether he was worried about being “canceled” for his stance, per the Detroit Catholic. Sarah said there have been suggestions that their stance might impact recruiting or job prestige, but she said the couple feels they are doing things “for the right reasons.”
