OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – The Nebraska Republican Party says a Jesuit college in Omaha should rescind its invitation asking former U.S. Sen. Bob Kerrey to speak at its commencement, citing his position on abortion.

The state party’s executive director, Ryan Hamilton, released a statement Thursday saying that Creighton University should find a different commencement speaker and “take a stand for their pro-life values.”

Hamilton says Kerrey voted against banning late-term abortions while in the Senate.

Kerrey, who also formerly served as Nebraska’s governor, says he won’t speak at the May 18 commencement ceremonies if his presence will be a distraction.

Kerrey says he supports Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion. He says it doesn’t make him “pro-abortion,” but rather “pro-civil rights.”

The university declined to comment.