The National Right to Life Committee has endorsed former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson as the candidate most likely to beat abortion-rights supporter Rudy Guliani, the Associated Press reports.

"While there are various polls, and some are up-and-down, the overwhelming consensus has been that he is best-positioned to top pro-abortion candidate Rudy Giuliani for the Republican nomination," the group's executive director, David N. O'Steen, said at a Washington news conference.

O'Steen argued that the National Right to Life endorsement was of greater importance to the race than recent endorsements from prominent conservatives, such as televangelist Pat Robertson's endorsement of Giuliani or Moral Majority co-founder Paul Weyrich’s endorsement of former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.

"This is an endorsement by an organization representing groups throughout the country, 3,000 chapters, and it just can't be compared to individual endorsements," O'Steen said.