Planned Parenthood grant recipient in Peru loses in court in attempt to silence ACI Prensa

By David Ramos

Lima, Peru, Nov 2, 2021 / 16:30 pm

Promsex, an organization that promotes the decriminalization of abortion in Peru, lost in court in its attempt to silence ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish language news partner, and to hide its ties with Planned Parenthood.

The Second Constitutional Chamber of the Superior Court of Justice of Lima dismissed Sept. 24 the defamation suit filed by Promsex against ACI Prensa, but as is sometimes the case, the ruling was only recently made available.

ACI Prensa revealed in 2015 that Planned Parenthood had allocated more than $3 million to the non-governmental organizations INPPARES, Catholics for the Right to Decide, and Promsex to promote the legalization of  abortion in Peru.

Promsex, headed by Susana Chávez, received more than $700,000 from Planned Parenthood for projects that ran between 2013 and 2015.

Of that amount, more than $160,00 was allocated to "strengthen the public debate to reduce the stigma of abortion," as well as "to make it a political issue."

In addition, Promsex sought to obtain "a favorable opinion from decision makers in Congress."

In an Aug. 7, 2015 opinion piece titled "The Abortion Corsairs," ACI Prensa called Promsex "promoters of child dismemberment" and "abortionists.”

The Peruvian NGO then filed a constitutional rights lawsuit against ACI Prensa, demanding "the rectification and elimination of false statements, as well as those of a denigrating nature."

A lower court ruled June 15, 2018 in favor of Promsex but ACI Prensa won on appeal with all charges dropped, in a ruling that showed profound respect for freedom of speech and the duty that media have to inform the public.

The Sept. 24 ruling represents a stiff setback for Promsex and similar pro-abortion organizations in their attempt to censor unfavorable reporting.

Besides promoting abortion in Peru, Promsex played a key role in establishing the Latin American Consortium Against Unsafe Abortion.

Records from the Peruvian Agency for International Cooperation, which coordinates NGO funds and projects in Peru, show how over the years Promsex has channeled hundreds of thousands of dollars to Clacai, which was formed in 2006.

That year Promsex received more than $42,000 from Planned Parenthood, its parent company International Planned Parenthood Federation, and Gynuity Health Projects for the first “Clacai Regional Meeting,” which was held in Lima.

Over the years, Promsex has continued to funnel hundreds of thousands of dollars to Clacai, with money from, among others sources, Planned Parenthood, the International Women's Health Coalition, and foundations such as Ford and Tide.

Susana Chávez, who resumed her position as the executive director of Promsex after failing to win a seat in Peru's Congress in the 2020 presidential and parliamentary elections, is also Clacai's executive secretary.

Graduated in Communication Sciences from the Universidad Privada del Norte in Trujillo, Peru. I have been part of the ACI Prensa team for more than 10 years. I have covered Pope Francis' trips to Ecuador, Paraguay, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, and Peru. I covered the beatification ceremony of today's Saint Oscar Arnulfo Romero in San Salvador, El Salvador, in 2015. Special envoy for investigation in Honduras in 2016. Head of the ACI Prensa Office in Mexico since 2018.