The Auckland University Students Association has failed to ban a so-called anti-abortion group from campus.
More than 200 of about 300 students at a meeting in the university quad on Wednesday voted against it.
The vote followed a complaint about what are described as anti-abortion pamphlets handed out on campus by the university club, Pro-Life, in May.
Auckland lawyer Rachael Wong said she was happy with the result but the whole process had been a violation of freedom of speech.
She said the club would not change the way it operated and would continue to spread its message about the harmful effects of abortion.
Auckland University Students Association president Arena Williams said the vote should serve as a warning to the club to re-think the way it spread its message.