“I believe in having the courage to let the unborn be born,” Jim Harbaugh, coach of the University of Michigan football team, told an audience on July 17 during the Plymouth Right to Life Dinner in Plymouth, Michigan.

Coaches are used to being bold. And blunt. Look at Tony Dungy. Harbaugh, father of seven, is cut from the same mold. Fittingly, the pro-life dinner he spoke at was themed, “We Were Made to be Courageous.”

Harbaugh cited the Bible as well as science for why he believes in protecting the preborn.

“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,” Harbaugh told the assembled guests. “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.’”

Harbaugh also gave credit to his parents for instilling in him a respect for life. And he understands that not everyone agrees with his pro-life beliefs. In fact, he welcomes respectful disagreement.

“Passions can make the process messy, but when combined with respect, it ultimately produces the best outcomes,” Harbaugh 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. 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.”

And, he concluded, as between the two, the life of the preborn baby must win out.

Just a month out from the Supreme Court’s June decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that overturned Roe v. Wade, Harbaugh’s comments caught the attention of the liberal mainstream media, which tried its best to create controversy for the coach.

“The remarks by Harbaugh, who was quoted as saying, “I believe in having the courage to let the unborn be born,” run counter to those expressed by the university’s interim president,” The New York Times proclaimed in its article about the coach’s speech.

So what? Harbaugh never said he was speaking on behalf of the university, which as a public institution, is bound by the free speech guarantees of the First Amendment anyway.

Jemele Hill, a contributing writer to The Atlantic, tweeted, “This might be a difficult concept for Jim Harbaugh of [sic] any anti-choice person to grasp … but if you don’t want an abortion, just don’t get one. Not that hard.”

Not bad, Ms. Hill. So, I guess you would also say, “If you don’t want banks to be robbed, then don’t rob one.” Or substitute murder, assault, or any number of crimes. In fact, why have laws at all?

A meme doesn’t substitute for logic, and the left’s pro-abortion slogans defy logic.

Harbaugh, a 1987 NFL first-round draft pick and pro quarterback for 14 seasons, has also coached at Stanford University and for the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers. He took the Niners to a Super Bowl in 2012. For the last seven seasons he’s coached at Michigan, his alma mater.

Thank you, Coach, for standing up for pre-born life. That does sound pretty courageous to us.

Photo from Reuters.