Days after leading his team to a historic national championship, Michigan head football coach Jim Harbaugh marched and spoke at the March for Life to take a stand for the unborn.
Harbaugh, one of the more prominent pro-lifers in the sports world, took the stage to introduce another sports personality, former NFL player Benjamin Watson. The march was held on a snowy Saturday in D.C.
“Thank you all for being here. It's a great example of what you're setting. It's a testimony to the sanctity of life,” Harbaugh said.
“It's a great day for a march. It's a great day -- this is football weather! Let's go!” Harbaugh told the crowd, smiling.
Harbaugh told journalist Jon Root he doesn’t back away from his pro-life stance.
“Have the courage to let the unborn be born,” he said during the interview.
He also said 70 players on his team were baptized this year.
“I’m inspired by them,” he said.
NEW: Football coach Jim Harbaugh makes a surprise appearance at the 'March for Life' rally in Washington, D.C.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 20, 2024
Fun fact about Jim Harbaugh:
Harbaugh once told his Michigan players & staff that if any of them were ever dealing with an unplanned pregnancy, he and his wife would… pic.twitter.com/qSMWAwryls
Less than two weeks earlier, Harbaugh’s Michigan team defeated Washington on Jan. 8 to claim the school’s first national title since 1997.
It’s not the first time Harbaugh has taken a pro-life stance. In 2022, he spoke at the Plymouth (Mich.) Right to Life dinner. His wife also spoke at the event.
“I believe in having the courage to let the unborn be born,” the coach said in 2022. “I love life. I believe in having loving care and respect for life and death. My faith and my science are what drive these beliefs in me. Quoting from Jeremiah, ‘Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I set you apart. I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.’”
NEW: Football coach Jim Harbaugh makes a surprise appearance at the 'March for Life' rally in Washington, D.C.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 20, 2024
Fun fact about Jim Harbaugh:
Harbaugh once told his Michigan players & staff that if any of them were ever dealing with an unplanned pregnancy, he and his wife would… pic.twitter.com/qSMWAwryls
Harbaugh encouraged pro-lifers to support programs for pregnant mothers.
“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.”
In recent days, Harbaugh has been interviewing for an NFL job.
Photo Courtesy: ©Getty Images/Justin Casterline/Stringer
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
