WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Two dozen people protested outside the Wellington Regional public hospital here March 21 in defense of a woman’s right to choose abortion. The action was organized to counter vigils by opponents of women’s rights as part of their “40 Days for Life” campaign targeting the hospital, which houses Wellington’s one abortion clinic.

Most of the protesters were participants in a weekend conference organized by the Abortion Law Reform Association of New Zealand to discuss the fight to expand the right and access to abortion.

Abortion is legal in New Zealand only in cases of serious danger to the life or mental health of the mother, severe mental or physical handicap of the fetus, or severe mental incapacity of the mother. Any woman seeking abortion must get approval from two government-appointed “certifying consultants.”

“I have friends whose lives would be drastically different if they hadn’t had access to abortion,” Alix Mark, 26, told the Militant at the protest. “I wouldn’t want someone in an ivory tower telling me what to do with my body.” After the 20th week of pregnancy, abortion is only legal in cases where death or permanent severe injury to the mother is certified. Access to abortion services are limited, especially in smaller towns and rural areas. Medical abortion is not widely available.