National pro-life leaders are praising President Donald Trump for keeping his “promise” to them in his choice of Judge Brett Kavanaugh as his nominee to replace Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy.

“For a second time, President Trump has followed through on his promise to select a nominee from the list he presented during the campaign,” said Tony Perkins, president of Family Research Council, in a statement. “President Trump promised a constitutionalist – someone who will call balls and strikes according to the Constitution. We trust the president that Judge Kavanaugh will fit this mold as a justice.”

“In nominating Judge Brett Kavanaugh to be the next U.S. Supreme Court Justice, President Trump has once again delivered on his promise to send a fair and independent constitutionalist judge to our nation’s highest court,” said Ashley McGuire, a senior fellow with The Catholic Association.

“The American people want another great Justice like Neil Gorsuch; in Judge Kavanaugh, they have gotten him,” McGuire added. “The Senate should swiftly confirm him.”

Penny Nance, president and CEO of Concerned Women for America, said Kavanaugh “is abundantly qualified to sit on the bench of the United States Supreme Court.”

“He is among the best and brightest jurists on the appellate courts with a reputation of being fair and impartial in his decisions,” Nance continued. “Judge Kavanaugh is known as a judge who respects the Constitution as written, refusing to legislate from the bench. This is what we need at this time on the U.S. Supreme Court.”

Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, referred to Trump’s choice of Kavanaugh as “a bold choice for the high court” who will “bring balance to the court in background and in judicial temperament.”

“Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s record of respect for the law is vital as so many activists attempt to use the courts to push their own social agendas,” Hawkins added. “In no other election has the Supreme Court been so clearly front and center, and voters now expect the U.S. Senate to follow through on this confirmation.”

The pro-life leaders noted the transparency with which Trump made his selection.

“This is no surprise selection,” Hawkins said. “President Trump’s list of potential nominees has been available for all to examine, and in choosing Brett Kavanaugh, he is keeping a promise to the American people.”

Similarly, Father Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, said, “The President has conducted this nomination process with transparency, having shared his list of potential nominees with the American people in advance. We trust him and those who have advised him in this selection.”

Leonard Leo, an outside adviser to the president on Supreme Court confirmations, said of Trump’s choice, “Brett Kavanaugh is among the most distinguished and respected judges in the country, with nearly 300 opinions that clearly demonstrate fairness and a commitment to interpreting the Constitution as it’s written, and enforcing the limits on government power contained in the Constitution.”

Perkins observed that left-wing activists made the Supreme Court vacancy created by Kennedy’s retirement all about abortion and Roe v. Wade. He explained:

[M]any other significant issues are at stake including religious freedom and free speech. Under the Obama administration, we saw a growing assault on religious freedom and the courts became a battleground for secularists seeking to remove faith from the public square. Judge Kavanaugh resisted this trend in at least two instances – an HHS contraceptive mandate case and in an opinion supporting inauguration prayers.

Terry Schilling, executive director at American Principles Project, said:

Judge Kavanaugh is a principled constitutionalist who will interpret our nation’s laws as written. If confirmed, he will join the President’s previous nominee Justice Neil Gorsuch in helping to restore a greater respect for the Constitution to the Supreme Court and the entire federal judiciary.

Similarly, Troy Newman, president of pro-life watchdog Operation Rescue, said Trump “promised pro-life supporters during his campaign that he would appoint justices that would respect and protect the most fundamental of human rights – the right to life.”

“His pick of Judge Kavanaugh represents another promise kept,” he said.