"Anything we can do to protect life and understand that life begins at conception and ends at death; I mean, I think obviously we vote on different things and we have to respect what people desire, that’s part of the reason the laws are the way they are now, but any way we can protect life. A lot of the time when we talk about being pro-life, when you look at what’s happening in our country, when you look at the shootings, sex trafficking, you look at mass incarceration issues, you look at all these things, they are all connected, in my opinion," Watson, who played for the Baltimore Ravens last football season and is currently a free agent, said during an interview with PJM at a recent Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) conference on Capitol Hill.
"It’s all about how we value life and not just life before it’s born but also once it is here," he added. "So for me, it’s always about taking a holistic view of it. So it’s not tied just to abortion, but it’s also about how we value life for those that are already here, as well ‐ because I think when you do that, you also protect life before it’s born."
Watson, who delivered a speech at the March For Life last year, said that 60 million children have been aborted since Roe v. Wade, calling it an "atrocity" that largely "happens in the shadows."
"And since we can’t really see what’s happening, a lot of times, not just with this but with a lot of other things that are happening around the world, if we can’t see it, we somehow don’t feel like it’s urgent and important," he said.
Watson, who plays tight end and began his career with the New England Patriots, said his goal is to bring more public attention to issues such as abortion, violence tearing apart local communities, sex trafficking and mass incarceration.