National promises it won't touch New Zealand's abortion laws, but abortion campaigners still worried

The National Party has spent four days promising it wouldn't touch New Zealand's abortion laws if elected, but abortion campaigners are still worried.

And MP Simon O'Connor who sparked it all has apologised to his caucus but is still celebrating the United States removing the constitutional right to an abortion.

On Tuesday, National MPs assured they wouldn't roll back abortion laws if in Government.

"I feel very strongly in my pro-choice views," Nicola Willis said.

"Will not be touched and that's a really good thing," Nicola Grigg said.

"I don't think this is an issue that needs to be addressed," Louise Upston added.

Even O'Connor, who caused a four-day migraine for his party with a Facebook post celebrating the dismantling of Roe v Wade.

"My Facebook notifications were going absolutely nuts. I could see it was out of control," he said.

National MP Simeon Brown said he regrets liking the Facebook post.

"I think it was unfortunate," he said.

O'Connor's post was removed, and National leader Christopher Luxon said it was always going to get taken down.

"For me, it was pretty clear the post was going to come down one way or another," Luxon said.

Despite being told by his leader, O'Connor said it was his choice.

"There was no gag order. It was a free choice to pull down the post because of the ongoing distress, particularly the tensions in the comments," O'Connor said.

His colleagues are doubling down, saying there was no gag order.

"We don't have a Bill in front of us, we haven't been whipped, Louise and I are speaking to you on our own free will," Grigg said.

For the record though, O'Connor is still happy about the end of the United States' constitutional right to abortion.

"I'm a pro-lifer, so yes [I maintain that Saturday was a good day]," he said.

And that's got abortion campaigners in New Zealand worried.

"Members of the [US] Supreme Court also said they wouldn't touch the settled law and they did," said Abortion Rights Aotearoa president Dr Tracy Morison.

As protests rage on in the US, there are calls there for the Supreme Court judges who tore down Roe v Wade to be impeached.

In New Zealand, politicians of all stripes are promising the same won't happen here, from Labour MPs who voted against decriminalising abortion to National.

"For me, that's part of New Zealand's fabric now, women's choice for abortion," Labour's Anahila Kanongata'a-Suisuiki said.

"I don't think there's any appetite at all for revisiting the issue," Adrian Rurawhe added.

Luxon also said National wouldn't touch the law.

"We are not relitigating or revisiting abortion law in New Zealand," he said.

O'Connor apologised to caucus for the four-day distraction he caused, and this is perhaps a lesson for the National leader to get in first and respond to news of global significance before one of his backbenchers.