Prince of Liechtenstein vetoes abortion up to 12 weeks of pregnancy
What happened
Pope John Paul II wrote Evangelium vitae.
- Who
- Pope John Paul IICatholic Church · Asociación de Empleados Laicos Vaticanos · Conakry · Wadowice
- To whom
- Evangelium vitae
- Kind of action
- Wrote, signed or issued
- Where
- Liechtenstein
- Tone
- Neutral
- Reported by
- ACI Digital
Every action it reports: 3
- Alois, Prince of Liechtenstein vetoed Landtag of LiechtensteinSaid or cited
- Benno Elbs said existing rules had proven effective in statement to Archdiocese of VaduzSaid or cited
- Pope John Paul II wrote Evangelium vitaeWrote, signed or issued
On 23 October 2026 at 13:04
Hereditary Prince and Regent of Liechtenstein Alois vetoed a bill that would have legalised abortion within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, blocking a measure that the parliament of the small European country had approved by a single vote.
Abortion is a crime in Liechtenstein, except in cases of rape or grave danger to the life or health of the woman. Since 2015, women who have abortions abroad, usually in Switzerland or Austria, have not been prosecuted.
According to the constitution of Liechtenstein, a country of about 40,000 inhabitants located between Switzerland and Austria, no law enters into force without the approval of the prince.
The statement says that Alois "remains convinced that the proposed reform is not compatible with guaranteeing adequate protection of the unborn child's life as a fundamental legal value."
The statement said that Alois supports better information, counselling and support for women before, during and after pregnancy.
The bill would have permitted abortion up to the 12th week of gestation. The activists behind the initiative that advocated legalisation also sought an end to the ban on advertising and the inclusion of abortion in health insurance plans.
The initiative gathered 4,970 signatures, almost a quarter (25%) of eligible voters. Liechtenstein's parliament, the Landtag, approved it by 13 votes to 12 and, by the same margin, refused to submit it to a popular referendum.
Alois said in June that he would veto the measure.
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In 2011, voters narrowly rejected the legalisation of abortion in a referendum, after Alois said he would veto the measure if it were approved. In 2012, more than three quarters of voters (over 75%) rejected a proposal to remove the prince's veto power over laws approved by referendum.
According to the news portal SRF, the initiative committee said the veto was the first used by Alois during his regency, which began in 2004. Its members met with Alois at Vaduz Castle hours before the announcement. The committee called a protest in Vaduz, the country's capital, for tomorrow (24).
There are no official statistics on abortions in Liechtenstein.
Before the Landtag vote, Bishop Benno Elbs, apostolic administrator of the archdiocese of Vaduz, said in a statement on 21 August that existing rules had proven effective and that protection of the unborn's life should go hand in hand with counselling and practical support for parents. The archdiocese had not publicly commented on the veto until today (23).
According to the Church's doctrine, human life has been under God's special protection from the moment of conception.
"By the authority that Christ conferred on Peter and his Successors, in communion with the Bishops of the Catholic Church, I confirm that the direct and voluntary killing of an innocent human being is always gravely immoral," said Pope St John Paul II in 1995 in Evangelium vitae.