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........

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