Liechtenstein prince uses first veto of his reign to block abortion reform bill backed by parliament and petition

Alois, the hereditary prince of the tiny European principality of Liechtenstein, has used his veto for the first time in his reign to block a bill that would have brought the country’s abortion laws into line with much of Europe. The legislation had been approved by parliament last month.

The bill followed the presentation of a citizens’ initiative signed by roughly a quarter of the nation’s voters. It was in the wake of that initiative that the legislation was brought before parliament and passed.

The news has left campaigners in the principality, home to some of the strictest abortion laws in Europe, reeling. “We’re not really surprised, but still disappointed,” said Tatjana As’Ad, who led the initiative to overhaul the law and who works for the small leftwing party, Free List. “It’s surreal what’s happening right now in 2026 in a state in the middle of Europe.”

In her view, the veto would do little to actually prevent abortions from taking place. “Liechtenstein will continue to have a situation where abortions are banned, but we know they’re happening. The veto just means they will continue to take place abroad,” she said.

Abortions in the principality are allowed only in limited circumstances, such as when a woman’s life is at risk or a pregnancy is the result of rape. Since 2015, women have been legally permitted to travel abroad to terminate a pregnancy to get around the restrictions.

After campaigners launched the citizens’ initiative in February, more than 4,970 people signed it — far more than the 1,000 signatures needed to send it to parliament. The initiative called for decriminalising abortion up to 12 weeks, for the procedure to be covered by health insurance, and for the repeal of a nationwide ban on sharing information about abortion access.

The hope was to do away with the many barriers women face by being forced to travel abroad, often to neighbouring Austria or Switzerland, which include the cost, the need to arrange childcare and the lack of a vehicle.

As the initiative gained steam, Prince Alois said he would use his veto to counter any overhaul of the laws. That promise loomed over the initiative even as parliamentarians voted narrowly to back the bill — but the prince’s veto has now halted that decision.

In his statement this week, Alois also said he was open to lifting the nationwide ban on information about abortion, suggesting that women might one day be able to consult their healthcare provider on where to access the procedure abroad and receive support afterwards.

Even so, campaigner Alvarez-Hummel worried that the estimated 40 women a year who are forced to carry out the procedure abroad would now face greater stigma and more deeply entrenched taboos. “You live in a country where it is forbidden, where the prince who lives in a castle made sure it stayed forbidden,” she said. “The one time he used his veto was against this — I can only imagine how difficult it must be for them to know this.”

Liechtenstein was the last country in Europe to grant women the right to vote in national elections, in 1984. “Liechtenstein has a history of being the last when it comes to women’s rights,” As’Ad said. “I had hoped that we wouldn’t be the last in abortion rights as well, but it doesn’t look good at the moment.”

The campaign had nevertheless managed a few successes, she said, pointing to how it had chipped away at the decades-long taboo around talking about the topic in the nation. The question now is what path reformers choose next after the veto.