A national pro-life leader has announced that he has thrown his support behind Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination.

In a letter to his own supporters, Fr. Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, said he intends to serve on the Advisory Committee of Brownback’s potential campaign for president.  

Senator Brownback has not officially announced his candidacy, but has formed an exploratory committee.

The priest said he is making this endorsement in his personal capacity, and not in the name of any of the organizations he leads.

He said Brownback has his “unequivocal support.” He described the senator as “a hero for the unborn and one of the strongest and most consistent supporters of pro-life policies” since Brownback was elected to Congress in 1994.

In a letter to “fellow conservatives”, Brownback described himself as “the only tried-and-true social conservative seeking the Republican Party's nomination.”

“Social issues first and foremost … drive my passion,” he said, referring to marriage, family, and pro-life issues.