Stratford mother Hillary Kieft watches National MP Chester Borrows sign her family petition seeking a change to the law that allows teenagers to have abortions without their parents' knowledge.

Parliament has rejected a petition calling for it to be made compulsory that parents be informed if their teenager was to have an abortion.

Parliament's Justice and Electoral select committee has released its report into the petition of Hillary Kieft and six others, that it passes legislation to prevent under 16-year-olds having abortions without notifying the parents.

It disagreed with Kieft, but recommended rules and guidelines should be strengthened to ensure under-16s were given the best possible information around post-procedure care, and encouraged to tell their parents themselves.

Kieft's daughter was 15 when she was taken for an abortion in Hawera in 2010 that was arranged by her school.

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Afterwards, she was dropped home to her parents where they were told she had been to a counselling appointment.

A year later their daughter attempted suicide and it was only then that she confided she had been taken to a clinic for an abortion and had not received any follow-up counselling or medical treatment.

The Taranaki mother appeared in front of the select committee in August last year, to speak to MPs about her petition.

She told them that as a result of the abortion her daughter is now infertile, and took medication every day to deal with depression.

"She was denied the support of her family and we were robbed of the ability to properly support and help our child. We also lost a grandchild."

But while the committee was sympathetic to Kieft's situation, it found in some cases, a young person could be put at risk of harm if their parents were informed.

"The evidence presented by the relevant organisations overwhelmingly demonstrated that, although it is best practice for a young person to tell her parents that she is pregnant, this should not be mandatory.

"Young people should be encouraged and supported to tell their family, but in some situations this would put them at risk of harm, the Justice and Electoral Committee has ruled."

In New Zealand, it is legal to have an abortion so long as two certifying consultants authorise it. There is no legal age limit.

Those consultants and other clinicians looking after a woman who is seeking an abortion, must inform her of all rights to seek counselling before and after the procedure.

Family violence screening and referral to appropriate community services and resources must also be made available.

But where a women needed extra support, "especially those under the age of 16" whose parents had not been notified, they should be "actively encouraged" to see a counsellor before having an abortion.

"We accept that young people who are pregnant and find themselves facing a decision about abortion may not perceive their parents as supportive," the committee MPs said.

"We heard that sometimes young people make their decision in secret based on fears of embarrassing or hurting their parents. There are also situations where a young person may honestly think they are at risk of violence from their family, or that the pregnancy is the result of the commission of a crime."

The committee has been investigating the issue since Kieft - with the help of National MP Chester Borrows - presented her petition to Parliament last year.

It heard submissions and evidence from across the health and advocacy spectrum, including the Privacy Commissioner, the NZ Medical Association, the Abortion Supervisory Committee, and Family Planning.

The select committee said it understood the majority of woman aged 15 and under who had an abortion, of which there were 150 in 2014, already involved their parents in the process.

The committee's decision has been slammed by lobby group Family First, claiming uncited research showed parental notification laws decreased teenage abortions by 15 per cent, and also decreased pregnancies.