In a wide-ranging conversation, Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh shared his thoughts on the coronavirus outbreak.

During a podcast hosted by National Review senior editor Jay Nordlinger, Harbaugh discussed his playing career and the art of coaching, among other subjects.

More from Harbaugh:'It's good to hope' that sports will return

To close the podcast, Harbaugh spoke of the generation of players he currently coaches, and touched upon how he sees the coronavirus outbreak influencing society.

"I think this group, this younger generation, those in their teens and early 20s, they see more about the world as a whole and think less about themselves and more about the planet and the environment and others," Harbaugh said. "I have to honestly say much more than those of us who grew up in the '80s. That era, that decade seems marked more by individualism.

"Even now, as we all go through what we're going through with COVID-19, I see people more concerned about others. More prayerful. As I said, God has virtually stopped the world from spinning. I don't think it's coincidence — my personal feeling, living a faith-based life, this is a message or this is something that should be a time where we grow on our faith for reverence and respect for God. You see people taking more of a view of sanctity of life. And I hope that can continue. I hope that continues and not just in this time of crisis or pandemic.

"And lastly, abortion, we talk about sanctity of life, yet we live in a society that aborts babies. There can't be anything more horrendous."

[ Ex-Michigan TE Mark Campbell is coronavirus cautionary tale: 'It kicked my ass' ]

Abortion is legal in the United States, but the issue remains one of the most controversial in American history. According to the Guttmacher Institute, a pro-choice research organization, there were approximately 862,320 abortions performed in the U.S. in 2017. In that year, 26,630 abortions were performed in Michigan.

Contact Orion Sang at osang@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @orion_sang. Read more on the Michigan Wolverines and sign up for our Wolverines newsletter.