I will not impose on anyone their right to their own decision
Two days before Peru's presidential election, leftist candidate Roberto Sánchez — a psychologist who has spent a decade rehabilitating child survivors of sexual abuse — publicly defended legalizing abortion in cases of rape, drawing a clear moral and political line against his opponent Keiko Fujimori's opposition to such exceptions. Speaking before the foreign press in Lima, Sánchez framed his position not as a departure from his Catholic, pro-life identity, but as its truest expression: that conscience and democracy require the state to respect the most intimate decisions of those who have already suffered the gravest violations. The election, now hours away, will determine whether Peru moves toward greater reproductive autonomy or deepens the restrictions that have long left survivors of sexual violence with no legal recourse.
- With the vote just forty-eight hours away, Sánchez drew the sharpest possible contrast with Fujimori by defending abortion access for rape survivors — a position that remains deeply contested in a country with a near-total ban.
- His decade of clinical work with child abuse survivors gives his stance an unusual moral weight, grounding policy argument in lived professional witness rather than abstract ideology.
- Ultraconservative forces in Peru's Congress have already moved to restrict therapeutic abortion, eliminate sex education, and erase the legal concept of femicide — a legislative record Sánchez openly condemned as the subordination of human rights to religious doctrine.
- Sánchez is attempting to hold a difficult center: Catholic, self-described pro-life and pro-family, yet committed to civil unions, gender equity, and reproductive protections — redefining conservative language rather than abandoning it.
- The election now lands as a binary moment for Peruvian women and LGBTQ+ citizens — either a shift toward legal recognition and reproductive autonomy, or a consolidation of the restrictions that have left them most exposed.
Two days before Peruvians chose their next president, Roberto Sánchez made his position unmistakable: abortion should be legal when pregnancy results from rape. Speaking at the Foreign Press Association in Lima, he drew a sharp line between himself and right-wing opponent Keiko Fujimori, who has opposed any exceptions to Peru's near-total abortion ban.
Sánchez grounded his argument in his own professional life. A psychologist and therapist, he has spent a decade specializing in the rehabilitation of children who survived sexual abuse. That experience, he said, had convinced him that permitting abortion in rape cases was not only compassionate but democratic and just. He also defended therapeutic abortion — legal in Peru since 1924 — while acknowledging it was poorly written and poorly enforced. He stopped short of endorsing broader abortion access, arguing the state should prioritize preventing harm through public health rather than expanding abortion as a default.
On LGBTQ+ rights, Sánchez pointed to his congressional record since 2021: he had voted for civil unions and pledged to advance gender equity policies that recognized the psychological and social realities of living as a woman or gender minority in Peru. He described himself as openly Catholic and pro-life — but defined those terms as a commitment to respecting people's right to make their own deeply personal decisions. "I am not going to impose on anyone their right to their own decision," he said.
His sharpest criticism was directed at ultraconservative lawmakers in Congress — particularly the party Renovación Popular — who had restricted therapeutic abortion, eliminated sex education from schools, and attempted to remove the word "femicide" from the penal code. Sánchez called this a willingness to subordinate human rights to religious ideology. "That cannot be," he said. "That is not my horizon."
With the election hours away, his words framed a stark choice: a path toward expanded reproductive rights and legal protections for sexual minorities, or a continuation of restrictions that have left survivors of rape with no legal recourse and LGBTQ+ Peruvians without recognition.
Two days before Peruvians would choose their next president, Roberto Sánchez stood before the foreign press and made his position unmistakable: abortion should be legal when a woman becomes pregnant through rape. It was a clear line drawn in the sand, and it separated him sharply from his opponent, the right-wing Keiko Fujimori, who has opposed such exceptions to Peru's near-total abortion ban.
Sánchez, the leftist candidate from the party Juntos por el Perú, grounded his argument in his own professional life. He is a psychologist and therapist who has spent the last decade specializing in the rehabilitation of children who have survived sexual abuse. That experience, he said, had convinced him that permitting abortion in cases of rape was not just compassionate but democratic and principled. "I have dedicated ten years to this work," he told the assembled journalists at the Foreign Press Association. "Therefore, I believe abortion in cases of rape is what is democratic, what is just, and what is principled."
His position extended beyond rape cases. Sánchez also defended therapeutic abortion—the only form of abortion that has been legal in Peru since 1924—though he acknowledged that the law governing it was poorly written and poorly enforced in practice. Yet he stopped short of endorsing abortion as a general public policy. His reasoning was pragmatic: the state should focus its energy on preventing suffering and harm through robust public health measures, not on expanding abortion access as a default option.
When pressed on LGBTQ+ rights, Sánchez pivoted to his record as a congressman, a position he has held since 2021. He had voted in favor of civil unions, he said, because he believed in protecting minority rights. Peru, he argued, needed to shed all forms of discrimination—religious, cultural, economic, based on sexual orientation, or based on gender. Moving forward, he pledged to champion policies that would advance gender equity, recognizing the psychological, subjective, and social dimensions of what it means to live as a woman or a gender minority in Peru.
Sánchez identified himself as openly Catholic and described his values as "pro-life" and "pro-family." But he was careful to define those terms on his own. Being pro-life and pro-family, in his view, meant respecting people's right to make their own decisions about deeply personal matters. "I am not going to impose on anyone their right to their own decision," he said. "These are private acts that people must decide, and I will respect that."
He trained his criticism on what he called an "extreme conservative sector" in Peru's Congress—particularly the ultraconservative party Renovación Popular—that had pushed through laws he saw as hostile to both children and women. These lawmakers had succeeded in restricting therapeutic abortion further, eliminating sex education from schools, and attempting to remove the legal term "femicide" from the penal code. All of this, Sánchez suggested, reflected a willingness to subordinate human rights to religious ideology. "That cannot be," he said. "That is not my horizon."
With the election just forty-eight hours away, Sánchez's words represented a stark choice for Peruvian voters: a path toward expanded reproductive rights and protections for sexual minorities, or a continuation of restrictions that have left women with few options when facing pregnancy from rape and have marginalized LGBTQ+ Peruvians from legal recognition and protection.
Notable Quotes
I have dedicated ten years to this work. Therefore, I believe abortion in cases of rape is what is democratic, what is just, and what is principled.— Roberto Sánchez
Peru needs to shed all forms of discrimination—religious, cultural, economic, based on sexual orientation, or based on gender.— Roberto Sánchez
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does a psychologist's professional experience matter so much to his political position on abortion?
Because he's not speaking in abstractions. He's spent a decade sitting with children who survived sexual violence. That shapes how you think about what happens next—what a person needs, what dignity looks like, what the state's role should be.
He says he's Catholic and pro-life, but also supports abortion in rape cases. How does he hold both?
He's drawing a distinction between his personal beliefs and what he thinks the law should permit. He's saying: I won't impose my faith on others. Their private decisions are theirs to make. It's a particular kind of Catholicism—one that prioritizes conscience over doctrine.
What's the real fight here? Is it about abortion, or something broader?
It's about who gets to decide what happens to women's bodies and what rights minorities have. The ultraconservatives want to restrict both. Sánchez is saying the state should protect choice and dignity, not enforce ideology.
Why mention therapeutic abortion at all if he's defending rape exceptions?
Because it's the only legal abortion in Peru right now, and even that is broken in practice. He's acknowledging the real world: the law exists but doesn't work. That matters to people trying to use it.
Two days before an election—why make this statement now?
Because it's the moment when voters are deciding. He's being explicit about what he stands for, knowing it will cost him some votes but believing it's the right thing to say.