Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Barack Obama received the endorsement of former Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson on Friday. Richardson, the New Mexico governor, is a pro-abortion activist in the same mold as Obama and he will provide the leading Democrat with an inroad into the Hispanic community.

Richardson's campaign for the Democratic nomination never caught fire and he was consistently at the top of the second tier of candidates but behind Obama, Hillary Clinton and John Edwards.

The Clinton campaign has extensively wooed Richardson, and invited him to a Super Bowl party with former President Bill Clinton, but the governor wound up siding with Obama.

According to a New York Times report, Richardson ultimately sided with Obama because he feels the pro-abortion Illinois senator is the likely nominee.

It's time “for Democrats to stop fighting amongst ourselves and to prepare for the tough fight we will face against John McCain in the fall," he told his supporters in an email about his decision to endorse.

In a further statement Richardson called Obama a "once-in-a-lifetime leader that can bring our nation together and restore America's moral leadership in the world."
Richardson served as United Nations ambassador and Energy secretary under President Bill Clinton and was a member of the House of Representatives from 1983 to 1997.

While in Congress, Richardson compiled only an 8% pro-life voting record on 79 roll call votes on pro-life issues during his tenure, according to National Right to Life.

During the 2004 presidential elections, he lent his support to the launch of a NARAL fundraising campaign that collected more than $25 million to elect pro-abortion presidential nominee John Kerry.

Like Richardson, Obama is staunchly pro-abortion.

He has compiled a 100 percent pro-abortion voting record in the Senate and voted repeatedly to force taxpayers to fund embryonic stem cell research that destroys human life. Obama has spoken at a Planned Parenthood event and worked closely with the group when he was in the Illinois legislature.

In addition, Obama "does not support the Hyde amendment" protecting taxpayers from funding abortions with their tax dollars, his campaign has said.

He has promised only to appoint pro-abortion judges who will keep all abortions legal for another 35 years.

His campaign also points out that, in 2005, he was the honorary chair of Planned Parenthood of Chicago Area's Roe v. Wade celebration.