If you’re within 150 metres of certain abortion clinics, there are legal restrictions on what you can say and do.
These zones are called “safe areas”, and they’ve been part of New Zealand’s law since 2022.
Why were safe areas introduced?
The politicians who voted to introduce safe areas said they were concerned that women seeking abortions were “extremely vulnerable” and that in the past protestors had forced them to “run the gauntlet” on their way into clinics.1 The Attorney-General at the time referred to “the important purpose of protecting people providing and accessing abortion services from intimidation and emotional harm.”2
Others agreed that harassment and intimidation were wrong and should be condemned, but said that safe areas went too far in limiting fundamental rights like freedom of expression.3
In the end, Parliament created safe areas and said that they may be implemented where necessary to prevent “risk to the safety and well-being” of anyone accessing or providing abortion services and “to respect [their] privacy and dignity”.4
What does the law say?
A safe area is the “premises at which abortion services are provided, and any area around those premises”, that has been specified by regulations.5 So safe areas don’t exist automatically; they only come into effect in specified places that the Government has defined. You can find a list of current safe areas, including maps showing exactly what each safe area covers, on the Ministry of Health website.
Inside a safe area:6
(1) A person must not—
(a) obstruct a person in a safe area who is approaching, entering, or leaving any building in which abortion services are provided; or
(b) make a visual recording of another person in a safe area in a manner that is likely to cause emotional distress to a person accessing, providing, or assisting with providing, abortion services; or
(c) do any of the following in a safe area in a manner that could be easily seen or heard by another person (A) who may be accessing, providing, or assisting with providing, abortion services:
(i) advise or persuade A to refrain from accessing or providing abortion services (unless the advice or persuasion is by a person who is, with the consent of A, accompanying A):
(ii) inform A about matters related to the provision of abortion services, other than during the course of providing those services, or assisting with the provision of those services (unless the information is provided by a person who is, with the consent of A, accompanying A):
(iii) engage in protest about matters relating to the provision of abortion services.
(2) A person who contravenes this section commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000.
A police officer can require anyone who does any of the above to stop and, if they do not, can arrest them without a warrant.7
The prohibited behaviours are all linked to accessing and/or providing abortion services, and are only prohibited within the defined safe area.8 These prohibitions do not apply outside a safe area although the general law will still apply, for example, the law on harassment.
An early draft of this law would have prohibited “communicating with” someone in a safe area, but Parliament decided this was too broad.9 The law was changed to specify the particular types of communication that are prohibited, that is, advising or persuading, informing, or protesting about matters related to abortion services (as described above). This change indicates that non-abortion-related communication is not prohibited.
When the Police or the courts consider whether an individual case qualifies as a type of prohibited behaviour, if there is any doubt about what the law means or whether it applies, they will refer to the Act’s purpose and Parliament’s concern that the women involved are particularly vulnerable.
What about silent prayer?
There have been overseas cases of people being arrested for praying silently about abortion inside safe areas. When the law change was being debated here, this was discussed in Parliament.
The discussion, though, was not entirely clear. One MP said that “private, peaceful prayer that doesn’t in any way reference abortion care” would not be prohibited.10 The Attorney-General at the time said,“communicative activities which cannot be regarded as a ‘protest’ and might commonly be seen at or near a hospital (such as an individual engaging in silent prayer) will not risk being criminalised.”11 Those opinions leave a question mark about “private, peaceful prayer” that does reference abortion.
In fact, the Attorney-General’s comment sums up the issue, which is whether prayer about abortion will be regarded as “protest”.
As a practical matter, if it is purely silent prayer it might be difficult for anyone else to know about it.
But what is less clear is whether silent prayer about abortion that is accompanied by visual elements will be prohibited—for example, a praying posture or the use of rosary beads.12 One MP stated confidently that “a nun standing with a rosary ... won’t be prohibited under this piece of legislation.”13 However, MPs’ opinions in Parliamentary debate are not the law. Others might argue that visual elements can convey a message to other people and that, depending on the circumstances, this may be regarded as a “protest about matters relating to the provision of abortion services”. If that could be easily seen by someone who may be accessing or providing abortion services, it will be an offence to pray this way inside the safe area.
The basic problem is that it is not yet clear what might count as a “protest” about matters related to abortion, and what that might mean for prayer with or without accompanying visual elements. There have not been any court cases on this, so it is difficult to know exactly how the law will be applied at this point.
Conclusion
Questions like this should be resolved in a way that tries to uphold fundamental rights, like the right to freedom of expression and freedom to manifest your religion and beliefs. However, they will also be resolved in a way that gives effect to the words of the law that Parliament passed, and to its purpose.
This explainer offers general information only. It is not legal or other advice and should not be relied on as such. Examples are given only to illustrate the law and the issues. If you have questions or need assistance with a particular situation, we’d love to hear from you at contact@ethosalliance.nz.
1. New Zealand Parliament, Contraception, Sterilisation, andAbortion (Safe Areas) Amendment Bill — First Reading, speeches of LouisaWall and Nicola Grigg, 10 March 2021.
2. Health Committee, Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion (Safe Areas) Amendment Bill (New Zealand Parliament, 2021), 10.
3. New Zealand Parliament, Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion (Safe Areas) Amendment Bill — Third Reading, speech of Simon O’Connor, 16 March 2022.
4. Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion Act 1977, section 13C(2).
5. Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion Act 1977, sections 2 and 13C(1).
6. Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion Act 1977, section 13A, emphasis added.
7. Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion Act 1977, section 13B.
8. Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion Act 1977, section 13C.
9. Health Committee, Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion(Safe Areas) Amendment Bill (New Zealand Parliament, 2021).
10. New Zealand Parliament, Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion (Safe Areas) Amendment Bill — Second Reading, speech of Sarah Pallet, 10 November 2021. See also New Zealand Parliament, Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion (Safe Areas) Amendment Bill — Third Reading, speech of David Seymour, 16 March 2022.
11. Health Committee, Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion (Safe Areas) Amendment Bill (New Zealand Parliament, 2021), 9.
12. Health Committee, Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion (Safe Areas) Amendment Bill (New Zealand Parliament, 2021), 5: “Some of us expressed concern at the possibility that individuals silently praying without any visual aids or placards could be included in the definition of prohibited behaviour, even in circumstances where their prayer was for matters unrelated to abortion, such as the illness or death of a loved one within a hospital. We were advised that silent prayer of this nature would not meet the definition of a protest.” (emphasis added)
13. New Zealand Parliament, Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion (Safe Areas) Amendment Bill — Third Reading, speech of Sarah Pallet, 16 March 2022.
