Over the weekend, Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein warned his people that if they vote to allow abortion into their tiny Alpine principality, he would veto the law, forbidding the procedure to take place. This means when Liechtenstein votes next week, their votes may mean little.
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“We think fewer people will vote because they’ll ask themselves, what’s the point? It really is an attempt to actively influence the referendum,” said Helen Konzett, who helped gather the 1,500 signatures necessary to call the vote, set for Sunday, September 18th.
Many voters in Liechtenstein are angry at Prince Alois, who seems to have inherited his father’s – Prince Hans Adams II – staunch Roman Catholic views.
During National Day last month, Alois made a speech in regards to allowing abortion into the country. He said doing so would lead to late term abortions for a fetus with a disability. “Until now we have been proud to support people with disabilities in our country. The proposal would discriminate against such people and allow them to be eliminated in the womb,” he said.
Currently, any woman in Liechtenstein who gets an abortion could face one year in prison, unless her life was in danger or she was younger than 14 at the time. She could even face imprisonment if she gets the procedure outside of the country. Because of the risk, many women are afraid to discuss abortion in the principality.
As for the doctor who performs it, that person could be in prison for three years.
If Prince Alois vetoes the law, he would be the first Prince of Liechtenstein to do so since his grandfather, Prince Franz Joseph II, blocked hunting laws in the 1980s.
While many monarchs worldwide have been losing their powers over the years, the Princes of Liechtenstein saw theirs increase in 2003. That was when Prince Hans Adam II pushed for a constitutional amendment allowing sovereign Princes more power.
Source: Scotsman News
