Lichtenstein’s parliament has narrowly voted to legalise abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, with the nation’s Prince Alois now expected to veto the bill as he previously promised.
On September 3, the 25-seat parliament of Lichtenstein voted 13-12 to approve an abortion bill which would legalise abortions up to 12 weeks. The bill, a project of a group of citizens who have been campaigning for abortion, would also remove a national ban on accessing information about abortion along with offering health insurance for abortions.
Lichtenstein’s parliament also voted 13-12 against holding a public referendum regarding the bill’s proposals. A previous referendum in 2011 saw 52 percent of the electorate oppose legalising abortion in the majority Catholic nation.
Such a bill comes on the back of a widely-backed campaign which garnered just under 5,000 signatures, nearly five times the amount required for the proposal to make its way before parliament. The population of the tiny state numbers around 40,000.
However the bill is unlikely to pass into law. As the Catholic Herald reported, Hereditary Prince Alois has already promised to veto any such legislation. He warned that it did not align with “the fundamental legal good of the protection of life”.
Under the terms of the 2003 constitutional referendum, Crown Prince Hans Adam II has power to veto proposed laws. Hans Adam appointed his son Alois as regent in 2004, while he stayed as monarch and head of state, meaning that it is up to Alois to prevent abortion from being legalised in Lichtenstein.
Technically, abortion is only legal in the state when the mother was raped, if the abortion is deemed necessary to save the mother from an immediate danger to life, or if she is below the age of consent. Outside of those conditions, the individual performing an abortion can be jailed for three years and the mother could also face a year in jail.
Prince Alois’ planned veto of the bill was already known prior to the signature collection drive and the vote in parliament.
His power to veto any legalisation of abortion is one of the key issues abortion activists have long sought to defeat. In 2013, a citizen’s initiative sought to strip the monarchy of its veto powers and thus advance abortion, but the nation overwhelmingly rejected the move with 76 percent defending the Hereditary Prince’s veto powers.
Michael Haynes is an English journalist in the Holy See Press Corps. He serves as Vatican Correspondent for the Catholic Herald, while readers can follow him at Per Mariam and on X @MLJHaynes.
