When asked on NBC's "Meet the Press" if the Bush administration will not try to overturn the 1973 decision, Cheney replied, "I didn't say that."

"President Bush and I have talked -- both of us strong supporters of the pro-life position -- and the president's made it very clear the policy of this administration will be to try to find ways to reduce the incidence of abortion," he said.

Cheney's comments came less than a week after President George W. Bush, on his first working day in office, sparked an uproar when he banned federal funds for international family planning groups that support abortion.

Family planning groups reacted with dismay, while the move was welcomed by abortion opponents.

In taking on the abortion issue as one of the first acts of his presidency, Bush risked complicating his vow to unite the country and improve relations between Republicans and Democrats, who generally have opposing views on the issue.

Bush opposes abortions except in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of a pregnant woman, although he supported a Republican Party platform calling for an absolute ban on abortion.

Cheney said there are other ways to reduce the number abortions in the United States than overturning Roe v. Wade, including encouraging abstinence and adoption as well as making some types of abortions illegal.

"Even if you could not, at this stage, build majority support for the notion of changing Roe v. Wade, there are areas out there where I think we can get majority support for, such as banning partial birth abortions," he said. "That legislation passed the Congress, was vetoed by President Clinton. I would hope we could go back and redo that."

Since 1995, the House and the Senate have repeatedly voted to ban this type of abortion, performed later in a woman's pregnancy. Clinton vetoed the measures, arguing they did not have an exemption to protect a woman's health.

First lady Laura Bush said earlier this month she did not think the Roe v. Wade decision should be overturned. Cheney declined to discuss the first lady's position.

"I am especially not interested in getting in the middle of discussions between the president and the first lady on those or other issues," he said.