Labour leader and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said at the Newshub debate she didn't think abortion should be in the Crimes Act.

Abortion law reform advocates are keen on the new prime minister to act on her call to take abortion out of the Crimes Act as soon as possible.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern publicly stated that she didn't believe abortion should be in the Crimes Act, as it is currently. But the issue doesn't feature in Labour's 100 day plan or official Health Policy.

Abortion is currently a crime if not approved of by two specifically certified medical consultants, who have to have to believe that carrying the child to term would endanger the physical or mental health of the mother, or the child is the result of incest, or the mother is "severely subnormal", or the child is at risk of being "seriously handicapped".

LAWRENCE SMITH/STUFF Ardern: "I want women who want access to be able to have it as a right."

In 2016, 252 abortions were denied for not reaching this criteria. The vast majority which do meet the criteria do so under the "mental health" provision.

READ MORE: Jacinda Ardern: Abortion 'shouldn't be a crime'

Access to abortion is governed by the Crimes Act 1961 and the Contraception, Sterilisation and Abortion Act 1977. The law has not been changed since 1977, although there have been many calls for it to be liberalised.

KEVIN STENT/STUFF National leader Bill English wants to keep the rules the way they are.

Ardern said in the Newshub debate in early September that she didn't believe abortion should be in the Crimes Act.

"People need to be able to make their own decisions," said Ardern. "I want women who want access to be able to have it as a right."

In subsequent interviews she clarified that abortion would remain a "conscience issue" - meaning while she might bring a bill to Parliament, her government MPs would be free to vote against it if they saw fit.

Abortion Law Reform New Zealand president Terry Bellamak told Stuff on Sunday New Zealand had a real opportunity to catch up with the developed world as soon as possible.

"This is a time of opportunity, because so many other countries are going through the same kind of process around abortion. I can't really see New Zealanders satisfied if Ireland has more liberal abortion laws than New Zealand," Bellamak said.

"I really really want to believe Jacinda Ardern, because she said it right out in public, she said she would do this, and that she thought women should be able to get abortion as a right. To me that means not auditing of reasons any more."

Bellamak said taking away "auditing" of reasons for an abortion would mean women wouldn't have to make multiple long trips to abortion clinics, something which has been a particular problem on the West Coast of the South Island, where there are no clinics.

Medical abortions - also known as "abortion pills" and available to end pregnancies in early gestation - could be prescribed by GPs.

"There's no reason why a GP shouldn't be able to prescribe it," Bellamak said.

"Abortion is a safe medical procedure that one in four Kiwi women access at some point in their reproductive lives. Abortion is health care. It has never belonged in the Crimes Act. We look forward to the coming discussion on reforming the law.

Despite holding pro-choice views herself, Helen Clark's Labour government never substantially moved to liberalise the law.

Bellamak said she would fight to make sure this government didn't do the same thing - or move in halves, taking it out of the Crimes Act but keeping the restrictive criteria.

In the immediate term, she wanted the Justice and Electoral Select Committee to look into why Waitemata DHB had told some women who were 18 weeks pregnant to go to Australia for abortions.

A spokesman for the prime minister declined to make Ardern available for comment on the issue on Sunday.

It would likely prove controversial if a bill made it to Parliament.

National leader Bill English, a Catholic, opposes any changes that "liberalise" abortion laws, calling the current setup "broadly satisfactory".

But many in his party would not be so opposed, including possible leadership contenders like Nikki Kaye, who has called the current law "archaic".

The Green Party have often called for abortion laws to be liberalised and included in their policy platforms.

A spokeswoman for Green leader James Shaw refused to comment today about whether it had come up in coalition negotiations.

NZ First's Tracey Martin has in the past called for a 12-18 month referendum on the issue.

Anti-abortion group Voice For Life describe Ardern's views on abortion as "confused."

"It is not illegal for a woman to access an abortion in New Zealand," President Jacqui deRuiter said.

"There are restrictions on when an unborn child may be aborted and who may perform an abortion, but these restrictions are there to protect pregnant women from rogue doctors and other practitioners, and to prevent discriminatory abortion practices."

Right to Life spokesman Ken Orr said in a statement that any moves to legalise or decriminalise abortion would be met with "fierce opposition."

"She wrongly believes that the killing of our unborn children should not be a crime and that this killing should be a core health service. The proposed legislation will encourage further exploitation, coercion and abandonment of women, disguised all in the name of choice."

He also criticised Ardern for living with a man who was not her husband.

In a 2017 poll commissioned by ALRANZ a majority of the country supported abortion being legalised.

Green Party voters were the most supportive, while NZ First voters were the least.