Rick Perry has signed the Pro-Life Presidential Leadership Pledge, something I think he absolutely had to do to win the GOP Primary.

And it’s something that Mitt Romney hasn’t done.

The SBA-List reports:

“Governor Perry has been a long-time friend of, and leader for, the pro-life community,” said SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser. “His signature on our pledge is more than welcome and we applaud him for his commitment to continue to fight for women and unborn children.”

The Pro-Life Presidential Leadership Pledge developed by the SBA List is what has been defined as a “minimum standard” of what is expected of the next pro-life President. The Pledge contains four principles to which its signers are expected to adhere:

FIRST, to nominate to the U.S. federal bench judges who are committed to restraint and applying the original meaning of the Constitution, not legislating from the bench;

SECOND, to select only pro-life appointees for relevant Cabinet and Executive Branch positions, in particular the head of National Institutes of Health, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Health & Human Services;

THIRD, to advance pro-life legislation to permanently end all taxpayer funding of abortion in all domestic and international spending programs, and defund Planned Parenthood and all other contractors and recipients of federal funds with affiliates that perform or fund abortions;

FOURTH, advance and sign into law a Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act to protect unborn children who are capable of feeling pain from abortion.

Gov. Perry joins the current field of candidates – Michele Bachmann, Thad McCotter, Ron Paul, Rick Santorum, and Newt Gingrich – who have signed the pledge, which was announced in June. Mitt Romney, Herman Cain, Jon Huntsman and Gary Johnson have thus far refused to sign the pledge despite a growing number of voters who promise, by signing the Pro-Life Citizen’s Pledge, to only support a Presidential candidate who has signed the Presidential Pledge.

“The purpose of the pledge is to give the Presidential candidates a clear picture of what is expected should they be elected to the White House and to also give voters an understanding of exactly which candidates are willing to be a trusted leader on such an important issue,” said Dannenfelser. “Governor Perry has a proven track record as just such a leader on the state level and has now committed to continuing that leadership at the federal level.”

“I not only pledge to protect unborn life, but have a record of doing so in Texas,” said Gov. Perry. “I have signed legislation requiring parental consent for a minor to obtain an abortion, and have long advocated adoption as an alternative to abortion in order to protect unborn children.”

This is a pretty big deal and there’s no way I would’ve been able to support him without this pledge. I think many pro-lifers feel the same way.

This contrasts him well with a White House that “fully understands” China’s forced one child policy.