Hundreds protest Alois’s veto of abortion reform in Liechtenstein

About 300 people marched through Vaduz on Saturday to protest Hereditary Prince Alois’s veto of a proposed abortion law, ORF reported. The demonstrators carried placards and hoped to persuade him to change his mind.

The proposed time-limit rule would have allowed abortions without penalty during the first three months of pregnancy. Liechtenstein’s parliament backed it by 13 votes to 12 in early September, but the law cannot take effect without the hereditary prince’s approval. Alois has refused to give it, saying it does not adequately protect unborn life.

Some placards read “My body, my veto” and “My body does not belong to the principality.” Others addressed Alois directly: “Alois, we’re not angry, but very, very disappointed.” A demonstrator from Mauren told ORF she objected to a monarch deciding the issue. “It’s about us women. We give birth,” she said. Another participant called for a constitutional amendment to prevent such decisions in the future.

The protest was called by the initiative committee “Time-limit rule for Liechtenstein,” which says the veto curbs women’s right to make their own decisions. Petra Eichele, head of the infra women’s counselling centre and a supporter of the initiative, said she was disappointed by what she described as an unequal approach. She said the committee respected Alois’s personal opinion but could not understand why he was imposing it on everyone else. The committee said it would continue campaigning and rejected the accusation that it wanted to provoke a confrontation between the public and the princely house.

Nearly 5,000 people signed the initiative. Despite parliament’s vote, the veto leaves the existing rules in place: abortions are permitted in Liechtenstein only in a few exceptional cases. Since 2015, women have been able to travel abroad for abortions without penalty.