The first person Maria* called when she found out she was pregnant was her doctor. The second person was a lawyer. The single mother of one was in shock, and considering terminating the pregnancy. But she first had to make sure that she wasn’t about to do something illegal, because all she knew was that abortions were forbidden where she lived. “On top of the emotional mountain that was already there, I also had to deal with this,” Maria told me.
She also knew she wouldn’t get any information about abortions in her own country – that’s illegal too. After making her decision, she drove to a clinic across the border. It was a stressful, if short, 45-minute drive, at the end of which another hurdle was waiting: “Oh, you’re from Liechtenstein?” the receptionist said, according to Maria. “Then you have to pay immediately – 680 Swiss francs (£620) please.” She was taken aback and asked: “What if I can’t pay that right now?” The receptionist replied: “Then you’ll have to come back tomorrow.”
Liechtenstein has one of the strictest abortion laws in Europe. This is probably not something you know about my “micro-state” – you might think of its banks, of Alpine scenery and castles fit for a Netflix romance. But in between them live real people with real lives, and every year, an estimated 40 women who wish to terminate their pregnancy on their own terms cannot do so in their country.
But if you ask Liechtenstein’s regent, Hereditary Prince Alois, our prime minister, or random people on the street, many will tell you the same thing: there is no problem at all. Since 2015, women are legally permitted to have an abortion outside the country, and the external border is never more than a 15-minute drive away. And anyway, it is allowed if the woman was raped or if her health is at risk, so what more could you ask for?
What I, and others who are part of a new people’s initiative are simply asking for is what is already standard in most European countries: decriminalisation of abortion up to 12 weeks, repeal of the national ban on information about abortions, and for the procedure to be covered by health insurance. A recent poll shows that 62% of voters would be in favour of it if a vote were held. It should be a done deal. But no matter what the people say: the hereditary prince has already announced that he would veto any change in the law, long before a single vote has been cast. » | Gabriella Alvarez-Hummel | Monday, August 3, 2026
