"At the moment it is actually illegal under the Crimes Act to have an abortion... the main way women get it by saying that having a child is a serious danger to their mental health and that forces a lot of women to lie. Should we change that law?" Newshub political editor Patrick Gower asked Ardern.



"Yes. It shouldn't be in the Crimes Act," she responded to the raucous applause of the studio audience.

"People need to be able to make their own decision."



Gower asked the prime minister, a devout Catholic, whether he might change his mind on abortion like he had with the issue of marriage equality.

"No I wouldn't but I do support the law as it stands... I'd be opposed to liberalising the law," English said.

New Zealand's Abortion Supervisory Committee (three members appointed by the governor-general to oversee abortion provider licenses and reviews), has been asking for the law to be updated "to meet modern practice for some time", Ardern told BuzzFeed News.

"None of this means that abortion will be unregulated - but it does mean making sure that women have safe access," she said.



Abortion is currently only lawful in New Zealand in cases where the woman faces a danger to her life, physical or mental health, or if there is a risk of the fetus being "seriously handicapped" if the pregnancy continued.

There hasn't been a decriminalisation bill before New Zealand Parliament to date - "probably because abortion is a conscience issue which means every MP votes individually rather than along party lines", Ardern said.

"Everyone in parliament should vote according to their own beliefs, but I will ensure that the Ministry of Health and the abortion supervisory committee work through a bill that can go before parliament which would consolidate our abortion law, and remove it from the crimes act."

The Abortion Law Reform Association of New Zealand president Terry Bellamak said the Labour party had "read the tea leaves" on the issue of abortion as the association's poll earlier this year found a majority of Kiwis supported abortion being legal in all seven circumstances given to them from risk to the pregnant woman's life through to the pregnant woman not wanting to be a mother.



In a poll released shortly before the debate on Thursday, New Zealand Labour overtook the Nationals for the first time in 12 years, leading 43% to 41% according to the Colmar Brunton poll.