Coach Harbaugh is known for being outspoken and openly emotional while coaching games at both the college and professional levels. The Michigan head coach and former NFL quarterback chose over the weekend to speak out a pro-life event in Plymouth, Michigan, sharing his beliefs about the unborn:
"I believe in having the courage to let the unborn be born," he told attendees at the Plymouth Right to Life dinner. "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."
Harbaugh, one of the keynote speakers at the event, also stated: "In God's plan, each unborn human truly has a future filled with potential, talent, dreams and love. 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."
American Family News sought reaction from Right to Life of Michigan, whose director of communications and education says it always exciting when public figures support the unborn and state their pro-life beliefs publicly.
"I think it just goes to show that people can't sit on the sidelines anymore and just kind of hope that this issue gets taken care of, or that eventually Michigan will be a life-affirming state," says Anna Visser. "I think now is the perfect time for people like Coach Harbaugh and other public figures to come up and say I'm pro-life and this is why and this is important to me.'"
Steven Ertelt, editor of LifeNews.com, says Harbaugh's comments are the opposite of what makes a lot of headlines these days.
"We're in a day and age when celebrities are getting all sorts of endorsements and publicity from the media talking about how wonderful abortion is," he tells AFN. "It's nice to see somebody who's got some good name recognition talk about the importance of life and the value of unborn children."
American Family Association points out Harbaugh has already come under fire for his comments – and has come to his defense through an online petition. "Twitter has erupted with hatred toward Coach Harbaugh and his biblical stand for the life of the unborn," AFA notes in an Action Alert to its supporters.
The petition thanks Harbaugh for his "outspoken support for life" and for being an encouragement to pro-lifers across America.
Editor's Note: The American Family Association is the parent organization of the American Family News Network, which operates AFN.net.
