[3] During a parliamentary committee considering the Abortion Legislation Act 2020 on 10 March 2020, ACT Party leader David Seymour had successfully moved an amendment deleting the definition of "safe zones" from the legislation while voting for the proposal to remove the regulatory power to create safe areas.

"[4][5][2] The Abortion Legislation Act subsequently passed into law with Seymour's amendment on 18 March,[6][7] and received royal assent that same month.

He proposed replacing the offending text with an extended definition of "intimidation" to include communicative acts carried out by anti-abortion activists such as sign-waving, "sidewalk counselling" and video recording.

National MP Michael Woodhouse expressed concerns about free speech but supported the passage on the bill on the grounds that the public's voice needed to be heard at the select committee stage.

[1] At the time, the health select committee's membership consisted of the chairperson Liz Craig, Chris Bishop, Elizabeth Kerekere, Neru Leavasa, Tracey McLellan, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, Sarah Pallett, Gaurav Sharma, Penny Simmonds, Tangi Utikere, Brooke van Velden, Simon Watts, and Jan Logie.

Labour MP Sarah Pallett also spoke in defence of the bill, asserting that it did not criminalise "peaceful prayer" in a safe area while proscribing intimidatory behaviour such as recording abortion services users and providers.

National MP Simon Watts expressed support for the bill on the grounds that it protected women seeking abortion services.

Labour MP Vanushi Walters spoke about the harassment, intimidation, and obstruction encountered by women seeking abortion services from anti-abortion activists.

[13] Labour MP Kieran McAnulty argued that anti-abortion opponents were entitled to their views but did not have the right to obstruct others from accessing abortion services.

Green MP Jan Logie justified the necessity of the Bill in response to the surge in aggressive anti-abortion activism at abortion providers.

[13] Similar sentiments were expressed by ACT Party deputy leader Brooke van Velden and National MP Chris Bishop.

Simeon Brown, Simon O'Connor, Chris Penk, Penny Simmonds and Louise Upston continued their opposition to the bill.

The party's new leader Christopher Luxon and MPs David Bennett, Jacqui Dean, Mooney, Scott Simpson and Tim van de Molen switched to supporting the bill.

[1] Following the Bill's first reading in February 2021, the abortion rights advocacy group Abortion Law Reform Association of New Zealand (ALRANZ) welcomed the proposed creation of safe areas, stating that "Freedom of expression does not include the right to target a captive audience and force them to listen to your message.

"[18] Following the Bill's second reading in February 2022, ALRANZ welcomed the strong cross-party support for the legislation but expressed concerns about what the perceived "cumbersome" process for establishing safe areas.