NEW YORK -- The vice president's lesbian daughter told an audience of college students that she is pregnant with "a blessing from God" -- and not "a political statement."

Mary Cheney has been criticized by some conservatives who are upset that she and her partner of 15 years are starting a family.

Many conservatives, including President George W. Bush, also campaigned hard before last year's midterm elections on a platform that included bans on same-sex marriage and an insistence that same-sex relationships were not the best environment in which to raise children.

Speaking to a college audience in Manhattan, Cheney said the child she's carrying "is not a prop to be used in a debate."

She also criticized CNN news anchor Wolf Blitzer, who last week asked Vice President Cheney what he thought of conservatives upset with his daughter. The vice president told Blitzer he was "over the line," by asking the question.

Mary Cheney said she agreed. She's due to give birth in the spring.