Do you ever feel like it's not safe to speak up about things you believe are right? I know I have felt that way over the past couple of weeks since Roe vs. Wade has been overturned. I have seen many people I know and love spew biting statements in their hurt over the decision. I have seen families ripping each other apart, friends advising people who don’t agree with them to cut them out of their life, and random internet users telling me who I am because of what I believe.
So no, I haven’t felt safe saying publicly that I am pro-life.
But then I read something that made me feel a little more safe.
“I just think that ... the abortion issue is one that's so big that it needs to be talked about. It needs serious conversation. What do you think? What do I think? What do others think?...It's a life-or-death type of issue. 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."
These are the words of Michigan head coach, Jim Harbaugh. He is quoted saying this to a nationally known ESPN reporter. Coach Harbaugh has a national platform and is one of the few who has expressed his support for overturning Roe vs. Wade.
BUT these aren’t just words, he also says in the article “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." He also spoke out after the murder of George Floyd in 2020, tweeting that justice must be "equal and fair for all" and attending an anti-police brutality march in Ann Arbor a week after the killing. He doesn’t just say he is pro-life, he lives it.
So how is this empowering to women? Coach Harbaugh isn’t telling anyone what to do or what to think, he’s opening a conversation to discuss hard things.
The way to empower someone is to give them not just a seat at the table, but a voice that matters at that table. We need more people like Jim Harbaugh giving everyone a place to be heard and respected. When everyone feels safe to speak, that's when real change can happen.
Link to the full article here: https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/34295976/michigan-wolverines-football-coach-jim-harbaugh-says-help-raise-baby-member-family-program-involved-unplanned-pregnancy