National MP Simon O'Connor's abortion post was "gratuitous", political commentator Matthew Hooton says.
O'Connor took down his Facebook post which seemed to refer to the decision to overturn Roe v Wade as a "good day".
O'Connor maintains he wasn't "gagged", saying he took the post down voluntarily after comments spiralled.
"Nothing is wrong with being anti-abortion, many people are - Nanaia Mahuta is - but you don't have to be gratuitous about it on that particular day," Hooton told Breakfast.
READ MORE: National 'a party for women' - Christopher Luxon
"You don't have to deliberately go out of your way to make your leader look like a fool, which is what he did."
Abortion reform was passed into law in early 2020 during the last term of Government. It removed it from the Crimes Act as well as removing the statutory test for a person who is less than 20 weeks pregnant. It also allowed a woman to self-refer to an abortion provider.
Sixty-eight MPs voted in favour, 51 of those voted against during the third reading. Thirty-five National MPs voted against - 13 of whom remain in Parliament.
Hooton said National was suffering from a "perception problem" in the wake of O'Connor's post, explaining there's no possibility of New Zealand's abortion reform laws being overturned.
"It just wouldn't happen," he remarked.
Asked if O'Connor had torpedoed his career, Hooton said he doubted the Tāmaki MP is going anywhere in the party.
He added he doubted O'Connor will ever be in Cabinet.
Hooton said this was a shame for National, as the Tāmaki electorate was former prime minister Robert Muldoon's seat.
The political commentator said there is an expectation that whoever holds the Tāmaki seat is talented and going places - "maybe even right to the top".
Fellow political commentator Shane Te Pou appeared alongside Hooton on Breakfast's political panel. He said National leader Christopher Luxon's communication on the post has been "clumsy".
Te Pou said the issue isn't complex and is about the sovereignty of women's bodies. He described Luxon as "pro-life, but anti-choice".
Luxon declared on Wednesday that "the National Party is a party for women."
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