Former Vice President Mike Pence says he believes implementing a national abortion ban and continuing the conservative fight to restrict bodily autonomy for women “is profoundly more important than any short-term politics.”

The comments came in an interview with RealClearPolitics, during which Pence urged his fellow Republicans not to “shrink from the fight” after some GOP legislators distanced themselves from an effort by South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham to implement a national abortion ban. Some Republicans are wary that a push for a federal ban could galvenize pro-choice voters in the Novemeber midterms and cost them highly coveted legislative seats.

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When asked on Tuesday if he would bring Graham’s measure to the Senate floor, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said “most of the members of my conference prefer that this be dealt with at the state level.”

Republican lawmakers have been disingenuously framing abortion as a “states rights” issue in order to mitigate the backlash to the Supreme Court overturning of Roe v. Wade, but the effort to implement a federal abortion ban has been in the works since far before the Dobbs decision in June.

Former Vice President Mike Pence says he believes implementing a national abortion ban and continuing the conservative fight to restrict bodily autonomy for women “is profoundly more important than any short-term politics.”

The comments came in an interview with RealClearPolitics, during which Pence urged his fellow Republicans not to “shrink from the fight” after some GOP legislators distanced themselves from an effort by South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham to implement a national abortion ban. Some Republicans are wary that a push for a federal ban could galvenize pro-choice voters in the Novemeber midterms and cost them highly coveted legislative seats.

More from Rolling Stone

• Lindsey Graham Introduces Nationwide Abortion Ban Weeks After Saying It's Up to States

• The Catholic Church Is Bankrolling a Nationwide Assault on Women's Rights

• Latto Shows Support for Abortion Rights in Planned Parenthood PSA

When asked on Tuesday if he would bring Graham’s measure to the Senate floor, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said “most of the members of my conference prefer that this be dealt with at the state level.”

Republican lawmakers have been disingenuously framing abortion as a “states rights” issue in order to mitigate the backlash to the Supreme Court overturning of Roe v. Wade, but the effort to implement a federal abortion ban has been in the works since far before the Dobbs decision in June.