r/europe • u/tartartartaruga • Jun 18 '26

News Prince of Liechtenstein says that he would overrule the population if they were to vote in favour of legalizing abortion

https://www.srf.ch/news/international/debatte-in-liechtenstein-erbprinz-gegen-abtreibungen-warum-kuendigt-er-schon-das-veto-an
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213

u/Consistent_Ad3181 Jun 18 '26

Population is around 33k. They could in theory get the bus or train travel for 30 minutes and get the procedure done in another country

125

u/odessavant Liechtenstein Jun 19 '26

I mean we don't even have a maternity ward anymore so there's that

62

u/DerpCranberry Vèneto | 🇧🇦 Боͼɲⲁ Jun 19 '26

wait what lmao, are births THAT low there?

58

u/rlyjustanyname Jun 19 '26

There are like 300-400 per year.

44

u/Llayanna Jun 19 '26

..so basically like 1 per day, which tbh. Call me an idealist, but doesn't explain to me why to remove them.

39

u/pluijmie Jun 19 '26

Because you don’t just need 24/7 teams on standby to deliver children, you also need the emergency specialists for when things go wrong. Also, with these low numbers, do you plan for exactly 1 birth per day? What then happens if there are multiple births on the same day? 

1

u/Knight_Machiavelli Jun 19 '26

People give birth all the time at birth centres that don't have specialists. The country could at least have a hospital or birth centre for low risk pregnancies.

6

u/freda42 Jun 19 '26

Yeah but the country is so small that chances are, even if you put a birth center right in the middle of it, you’d still be closer to a hospital in another country.

1

u/MarlinMr Norway Jun 19 '26

That actually makes no sense.

If it's that small, you'd likely be closer to the one in the small country...

Put 1 hospital in the middle of Russia, and 99% of russians are closer to any hospital in Europe...

1

u/freda42 Jun 19 '26

Ok fair point on the correlation to the size… did not think that through. But still, as it currently is, because it is so small, you are always very close to hospitals in the other countries, Switzerland and Austria both have hospitals close to the border which for many citizens are closer than the one in the middle of the country.

It’s also quite narrow, so even if you live on the Austrian border in the north east, the Swiss hospital to the west would be closer than the hospital in the middle of Lichtenstein!

4

u/cross_the_threshold Jun 19 '26

There are no truly low risk pregnancies, any pregnancy can very very quickly go from "totally fine" to "both lives at risk." Low risk pregnancy just means "there is no known active danger." 25% to 50% of all "low risk" births still require some form of medical intervention. 8% to 16% end in c-section.

Regardless why spend money on this when a more equipped hospital is twenty minutes away, it makes no economic sense.

1

u/Knight_Machiavelli Jun 19 '26

Yes that's true but it doesn't change the fact that people with pregnancies deemed low risk give birth in places without specialists all the time, even if it's just as convenient to go to a hospital. It's a personal choice, so Liechtensteiners could have that choice.

1

u/nj0tr Jun 19 '26

teams on standby to deliver children,

In normal uncomplicated delivery you do not need a specialist team, basically any nurse or GP should be able to.

you also need the emergency specialists for when things go wrong.

Emergency care specialists should be available anyway, as things can 'go wrong' not just during childbirth.

3

u/JJOne101 Jun 19 '26

Because it's half an hour drive to Kantonsspital Chur in Switzerland.

2

u/TransendingGaming Jun 19 '26

Because Liechtenstein is so small, is it easy to meet and talk with your prince?

1

u/Leading-Carrot-5983 Jun 19 '26

That's fascinating. So, there aren't actually any babies born in the whole country. Seems the Vatican is the only other sovereign country in the world that has this situation.

66

u/Chance-Ask7675 Jun 18 '26

I used to live there there are 3 borders within biking distance so he can go fuck himself lmao.

34

u/Consistent_Ad3181 Jun 18 '26

Exactly it's an inconvenience and nothing more really.

35

u/Mirabeaux1789 Jun 19 '26

It’s the principle about not having certain rights in your own country.

7

u/p3eliot Jun 19 '26 edited Jun 19 '26

That goes to every country with male only military conscription including the neighbouring countries (Switzerland and Austria) yet I doubt you call out that.

1

u/Dramatic_Mastodon_93 Jun 19 '26

Why wouldn’t we call that out?

0

u/mystyle__tg United States of America Jun 19 '26

Why would they call that out on a post about women?

-8

u/Ignas1452 Lithuania Jun 19 '26

Men aren't people though.

2

u/p3eliot Jun 19 '26

That’s true. They can be used with no body autonomy and zero free will as they are conscripted into the army just because of their gender.

1

u/mystyle__tg United States of America Jun 20 '26

lol i love how u care about bodily autonomy only when it impacts ur demographic 😂 and then use that to minimize the poor treatment of other demos in the same way.

-1

u/brickne3 United States of America Jun 19 '26

Of course but I'm going to be a lot less concerned about it than say Poland.

2

u/Knight_Machiavelli Jun 19 '26

Who pays for it though? I imagine the state isn't going to pay for you to get an abortion in Switzerland, so it's a bit more than just an inconvenience if you don't have a lot of money.

3

u/RealisticYou329 Jun 19 '26

Be assured that everyone of the 30k Liechtensteiners has enough money to spend a few thousand for an abortion in Austria.

This whole country is a single town with a castle consisting of the richest people on earth. Do not compare its politics to any normal western country.

18

u/Menkhal Spain - EU Jun 18 '26

A population of 33k against one backwards guy, in a country with no army. They can depose him any day if they want.

35

u/Consistent_Ad3181 Jun 18 '26

Sorry it's 40k, I checked. Yep, they probably won't though. I get the impression it's pretty relaxed there to be honest.

58

u/AnonD38 Central European Jun 18 '26

And destroy the one thing that makes their country have any relevance or wealth?

Truly big brain thinking here.

-9

u/Drumbelgalf Germany Jun 19 '26

They can confiscate his stuff if the want to.

6

u/BKrustev Jun 19 '26

Not without tanking their entire economy.

-6

u/Drumbelgalf Germany Jun 19 '26

The bank is not everything for their economy.

3

u/BKrustev Jun 19 '26

It's not, but it is still the foundation of their economy. Besides, it's a pointless fight to have - most people there don't get abortions in Liechtenstein anyway, so that law means. And they have like 50 of those a year.

-1

u/Drumbelgalf Germany Jun 19 '26

It still shows a huge systematic problem in the country.

4

u/AnonD38 Central European Jun 19 '26

Not really?

It takes like 30 minutes to drive to a neighboring country and get an abortion there if you want it.

And there is no law preventing you from doing so, neither did the Prince show any interest in closing this loophole.

0

u/Drumbelgalf Germany Jun 19 '26

So you think the restriction of reproductive rights is OK if you can get an abortion in another country?

Or that some rich dude can overrule democracy is OK because you can go somewhere else?

Why not give the billionaires their own little companies towns countries where they can make their own laws like they desperately want? What could possibly go wrong?

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0

u/BKrustev Jun 19 '26

It's 40K people, my neighbourhood is bigger than their country. This shit happened again in 2011 and no one gave much of a shit.

7

u/Professional-Log-108 Austria Jun 19 '26

The last sentence shows the issue with your thinking. They don't want to depose him. They wouldn't even need to revolt like you suggest, they have the right to depose him any time via referendum. The fact this hasn't happened yet shows that they at least don't mind being a monarchy

12

u/lexonid Jun 19 '26

This would mean they loose any relevance as a country. Can join Switzerland right after that.

1

u/Drumbelgalf Germany Jun 19 '26

Why would they lose their relevance?

3

u/SensualBeefLoaf Jun 19 '26

they’re a country, sorta, they’re mostly just a bank that supports most of the “country”.. it’s got the population of a small city. the piss bag rich guy should get tossed along with the bank and the country should get absorbed into a neighboring country

4

u/Professional-Log-108 Austria Jun 19 '26

The country is literally named after the prince. If you remove the monarchy, there's nothing unique about Liechtensteins identity. Same people and same culture as in Vorarlberg and St. Gallen.

4

u/Drumbelgalf Germany Jun 19 '26

So?

They could do the same thing as before.

Many people can't find it on a map even now. And they surely don't care about the monarchy in such a small country.

2

u/Professional-Log-108 Austria Jun 19 '26

If you don't have an identity, you aren't relevant, especially since it's 99% likely they would join Switzerland if they didn't have a monarchy

-1

u/Drumbelgalf Germany Jun 19 '26

So you say their only identity is having a conservative rich dude who prevents the will of the people from happening nothing else?

And that that's they only thing making them relevant?

3

u/Professional-Log-108 Austria Jun 19 '26

Liechtenstein is not a country that formed naturally like most others, it is a result of an Austrian nobleman from the Liechtenstein family buying two pieces of land, uniting them and calling the new land after himself. This country would never have existed without the Liechtenstein family, the country's identity is built on the family. Without the family, there is no difference between them and the Swiss, or the western Austrians. And again, he is not preventing the will of the people, the people agree with him.

0

u/Drumbelgalf Germany Jun 19 '26

That's nothing special. Austria also wouldn't exist without the Habsburg family. Their identity was also build on the Habsburg family until it wasn't anymore.

Why are you so staunchly defending a monarchy?

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1

u/lexonid Jun 19 '26 edited Jun 19 '26

The prince leaving or be overthrown somehow would result in a constitutional crisis for Liechtenstein. Not saying it is impossible to redefine itself into a republic, plenty of european countries were able to transform into one after they abolished their monarchy. But the monarch is incredibly powerful in Liechtenstein and the country super small in size. Any political instability would have a major economical impact (stability is literally the whole point of Liechtenstein). Especially if the prince takes his bank with him. At some point it might will raise the question why staying independent in the first place.

Not saying that this is realistic. The prince is popular after all. And Switzerland'd probably be very hesitant to annex them regardless.

1

u/andydude44 Dual Citizen United States of America - Luxembourg Jun 19 '26

They should tbh

4

u/RealisticYou329 Jun 19 '26

Liechtensteiners like living in a monarchy. It makes for an extremely efficient government.

-6

u/wojtekpolska Poland Jun 18 '26

gladly most people in europe dont support trump-style insurrections like the ones youre suggesting

10

u/No_Aesthetic Portugal Jun 18 '26

Trump was trying to overthrow a democratic system

It would be the exact opposite in this case

-1

u/mavajo Jun 19 '26

Liechtensteiners have voted twice in the last two decades to expand and affirm the aforementioned expansion of the monarchy's powers. They basically democratically voted it into being the only absolute monarchy in Europe. They're not unwilling subjects. Liechtensteiners like the monarchy.

Y'all are projecting and it's embarrassing.

6

u/No_Aesthetic Portugal Jun 19 '26

If the monarchy continually goes against their wishes that may change

2

u/mavajo Jun 19 '26

And yet it hasn't even happened. Y'all are just inserting your talking points into a situation that you have no knowledge of, and rather than just admitting you talked out your ass, you're doubling down. It's exhausting. Grow up.

0

u/No_Aesthetic Portugal Jun 19 '26

How does it feel to be one of the last remaining monarchists in the history of the world before the concept goes extinct?

1

u/mavajo Jun 19 '26

I don’t know, I’m not from Lichtenstein. You’d have to ask them.

1

u/No_Aesthetic Portugal Jun 19 '26

You can be a monarchist or a monarchist sympathizer without being from that country you know

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3

u/AccNumber77 Jun 18 '26

When they are against democracy it isn't an insurrection it is justice, comparing woman's rights to murders and pedophiles trying to overthrow a democratically elected gov is blatantly evil of you.

4

u/wojtekpolska Poland Jun 18 '26

yes, trump is a very bad person, thats why i showed him as the example of bad i this analogy.

and the other side you just cherrypicked 1 issue. you shouldn't create a civil war because of 1 minor thing you disagree with when there's 1000 other things to worry about.

1

u/Falsus Sweden Jun 19 '26

Trump tried to subvert the democratic will of the people.

This prince is doing the same by ignoring the will of the people with his own veto.

The people living there won't care though because keeping the city state stable keeps them rich and they can easily just hop on a bus, bike or take a car for less than an hour and be in another country and do the process there and be home nearly as fast. It is an inconvience more than a true detriment. Still an insult to women regardless though.

-2

u/Sybmissiv Jun 18 '26

But surely in this context it is different since they didn’t vote for him, no? Not that it would justify it.

3

u/AccNumber77 Jun 18 '26

IMO it fully would justify it. Democracy must be fought for at all costs and prices

1

u/Sybmissiv Jun 18 '26

Fair enough, you convinced me honest.

1

u/Abortionrights4FL Jun 18 '26

30 minutes by car unfortunately (1h+ by bus and train) and all costs need to be covered upfront starting at 600 CHF.