A “Love Island” reality show star says she had an abortion nine months after giving birth to her daughter because of the “mental and physical pressure” of breastfeeding and not being “passionate” about having another baby.
She mistakenly believed that the reasons she had for wanting to keep her baby were the “wrong” ones.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Reality show star Liana Isadora Van Riel discussed her abortion on TikTok, stating that she had an abortion just months after giving birth to her daughter because of “physical and mental pressure.”
- Van Riel said she would have “loved” to keep her baby, but for “the wrong reasons” — one of which was to give her daughter a sibling.
- Many people have spoken out about having lost siblings to abortion and the devastation they felt.
THE DETAILS:
Liana Isadora Van Riel, who was part of the cast on “Love Island” in 2016, posted a video to TikTok in May, telling her followers she wanted to share her abortion story for “awareness and transparency.” She said that seven months after giving birth to her daughter, she learned she was pregnant while still breastfeeding her daughter. She and her boyfriend decided to have an abortion.
“It’s probably one of the hardest things I’ve been through,” said Van Riel. “So, obviously, this pregnancy came as a huge shock, and in an ideal world, I think I would have loved to have carried on the pregnancy. Me and my boyfriend spoke about it, we did consider it, but the reasons for were for all the wrong reasons — it was to give my daughter a sibling, it was because it was a nice age gap, it was mostly because I didn’t want my daughter to be lonely when she’s older and that’s just the wrong reason.”
Ultimately, she felt she could not “take on the mental and physical pressure” of breastfeeding another baby.
“I had to go with my head over my heart and my gut, and I knew I was making the decision for the right reasons,” she said. “And as lovely as having two under two sounds it would not be ideal for my situation and I just know I wouldn’t be able to be the best mum I could be to my daughter — and the baby if I had it. I would absolutely crumble.”
COMMENTARY:
But everything Van Riel said and believed was based on lies. In fact, she admits she went against both her heart and her gut. This is how abortion continues to thrive — through a mentality that tells women they should have abortions even if they want their babies.
The reasons Van Riel gave for wanting to keep her baby were not “wrong” as she claims. They were completely right — unselfish and sacrificial. Giving her daughter a sibling, especially one so close in age, was a gift that Van Riel destroyed because of the lie that she wasn’t strong enough to handle two children and to breastfeed again.
Abortion thrives when women believe themselves to be incapable and weak, or on being convinced to put themselves first above their children’s needs and rights. It thrives when women feel they are alone and with no support.
All of her reasons to keep her baby were focused on what was good for her daughter. Her reasons to abort were focused on suppressing her fears regarding herself.
WHY IT MATTERS:
Countless people have shared their stories of learning that they had lost a sibling to abortion, as Van Riel’s daughter has, and the effects it had on their lives are heartbreaking:
- Peter Hitchens, an author and journalist, shared in 2023 that he had one living brother but had lost two siblings to abortion: “I would have had two other siblings, but my mother had two abortions. So they were, I rather guess, the sisters I wish I’d had. I do really wish I’d had sisters. I just would have liked to have that in my childhood.”
- Penelope shared that she was 16 when she learned of her mother’s previous abortion: “Knowing I wasn’t inconvenient enough to end up the way my sister was, and the fact my mother felt she needed to do what she did out of vulnerability, pressure, and panic makes me feel guilt in that I was spared and that I couldn’t help her choose life at the time.”
- Chloe learned she lost twin siblings to abortion. “I felt heartbroken, and at times, I feel guilty. I struggled with depression before I found out, and after finding out about the abortion, I constantly questioned my worthiness of being on this planet. I always felt (and still feel) like there’s an important part of my life missing.”
- An unnamed adult who learned she had lost a sibling to abortion said she didn’t think about it consciously for years, until one day, the thought of her baby brother came to mind: “Suddenly, I found myself thinking about my little brother! I became disoriented and lost control of the car for a moment as I burst into tears having lost him. I was astounded by my reaction, but I couldn’t shake the sadness and longing to have known him.”
- A woman at the 2024 March for Life said her mother became pregnant just six months after giving birth to her and aborted that baby. Her mother had also had an abortion just before she was conceived, and her father’s ex-girlfriend had two abortions as well — meaning the woman had lost four siblings to abortion. This realization — that her existence was essentially owed to being conceived at a more ‘opportune’ time — made her pro-life. She said: “She didn’t want to go through pregnancy a second time. She didn’t care for it. It really changed my perspective because I was raised pro-choice, pro-abortion, and as I had been dating someone, and I thought about the arguments, I was like, ‘I don’t think I can stand for this anymore. I can’t do this.’ Because the more I thought about the reasons that they gave, you know, ‘It’s your mother’s choice,’ and ‘I didn’t want to go through this,’ and ‘I didn’t feel like this.’ The more I thought about the reason why I was had is more that I was the more conveniently timed one.”
THE BOTTOM LINE:
Van Riel wrongly believes you should “only keep the pregnancy if you really are passionate about having another baby.” She convinced herself that giving her daughter a sibling for a lifetime was somehow the wrong thing to do — based on her fears of breastfeeding for a short period in her life and of raising two young children.
Only time will tell how the abortion affects her daughter, who lost a sibling.
GO DEEPER:
Read more here about a ministry for those who have lost siblings to abortion.
