The former vice president of the USA, Mike Pence called for a nationwide abortion ban during a speech in a South Carolina church. 

These were his first public remarks in the aftermath of the US Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe vs Wade - a ban on most abortions after 15 weeks in at least eleven states. 

Addressing congregants at the Florence Baptist Temple, Pence celebrated the end of federal abortion protections as he started his  'The Post-Roe World' speech. 

"As we gather tonight we must recognise we have only come to the end of the beginning," Pence said. 

"Standing here in the first days of post-Roe America, we must resolve that we will not rest, we will not relent, until the sanctity of life is restored to the centre of American law in every state in the nation."

Pence also called on the government to stop federal funding for abortion centres and encouraged churchgoers to consider adoption options. 

His comments come as South Carolina antiabortion lawmakers are considering a narrower abortion legislation, that would see no exceptions for rape or incest.

"If you're going to be pro-life, you need to be pro-adoption," he said.

"As South Carolina and states across the country take up pro-life legislation, let us tell our elected officials that as you move the law forward to protect the unborn, let us also redouble our commitment to provide care and support to expectant mothers, to newborns, and to young families," said Pence.

Bill Monroe, Pastor of the Florence Baptist Temple, said Pence's visit came due to a mutual friend.

"He told me that the vice president wanted to make a speech, in regard to the pro-life situation since Roe v. Wade, and he wanted to do it from a church," he said. "I said absolutely, we'd be honored."

Many analysts have seen his speech as "making moves" towards a campaign for the White House in 2024.