Michael Jackson: Pro-lifer?

Michael Jackson continues to make headlines three years after his death.

A 25th anniversary edition of his Bad album was released last month with six new tracks, including “Song Groove (Abortion Papers)." In it, the King of Pop appeared to be singing from the perspective of a father whose unborn baby is going to be aborted by its mother.

“Those abortion papers / Signed in your name against the Word of God / Those abortion papers / Think about life, I’d like to have my child," sung Jackson in a catchy tune that sounds more dance-club than dirge.

In the song’s notes, Jackson wrote, “I have to do it in a way so I don't offend girls who have gotten abortions or bring back guilt trips, so it has to be done carefully. … I really have to think about it."

Jackson is not the first mainstream singer to approach the subject of abortion with a pro-life stance. One year prior to Bad’s original release, Madonna’s “Papa Don’t Preach” proclaimed that she was “keeping her baby.” More recently, the singer in Kid Rock’s “Abortion” is driven to contemplate suicide over the grief and guilt stemming from his child’s abortion.

Jackson, recognized by the Guinness World Records as the most successful entertainer of all time, died in 2009 after taking a lethal dose of prescription drugs.