Denmark Has Formally Apologized To Women And Girls In Greenland For Forcibly Inserting Birth Control Devices Into Their Bodies Without Their Consent
On Aug. 27, Denmark’s prime minister Mette Frederiksen finally issued a public apology, calling the practice “systematic discrimination” and promising compensation for the women affected.
Denmark has formally apologized to thousands of women and girls in Greenland for forcibly inserting birth control devices into their bodies without their consent.
Between around 1966 and 1975, the Danish government had directed Danish doctors to insert intrauterine devices (IUD) into thousands of Greenlandic Inuit girls and women.
An IUD is a plastic contraceptive device inserted into women’s uterus to prevent pregnancy.
But unlike the modern IUD, the device used back then was a zigzag-shaped coil that was often too large for many women, especially for young girls and those who had not yet given birth.
The device was physically unsuitable for undeveloped uteruses, causing significant pain, complications and lasting health damage.
The campaign, dubbed as the “Coil Campaign”, was created by the Danish government to prevent unplanned or unwanted pregnancies, lower costs and control the birth rate in Greenland, which was a colony of Denmark until 1953.
At the time, Greenland had one of the world’s highest birth rates, and Denmark wanted to keep it low because it paid Greenland subsidies based on population size.
The story first came to light in 2017, when a Greenlandic woman named Naja Lyberth shared on Facebook that at the age 13 in 1976, she was forcibly fitted with an intrauterine device (IUD) without her or her parents' consent after a school medical exam.
Lyberth, now 63, described the experience as traumatic, saying the Danish government "stole her virginity" and caused long-lasting physical and psychological harm.
Nearly 200 women then responded to Lyberth’s story, saying something similar had happened to them, according to BBC.
In 2022, a local Danish investigation found that 4,500 women and girls, including those as young as 12, which was roughly half of all women who could give birth at the time, had IUDs inserted in them.
It found women were given an IUD sometimes after undergoing abortions and other operations and that the practice continued until at least 1991, when Denmark gained control over its healthcare system.
In May 2023, the Danish government announced it was launching an independent investigation into the case, which is now scheduled to be completed in January 2026.
In March 2024, a group of 143 women, including Lyberth, sued the Danish government for violating their human rights.
On Aug. 27, Denmark’s prime minister Mette Frederiksen finally issued a public apology, calling the practice “systematic discrimination” and promising compensation for the women affected.
On Wednesday, Sept. 24, Frederiksen delivered a speech apologizing to victims in person.
The event was emotional, with many survivors present, some wiping their tears, while others protested silently.
Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said the apology did not mean acceptance of what happened but was a step toward reconciliation.
This is one of several human rights cases Denmark faces over its treatment of Greenland’s Indigenous Inuit people, including forced adoptions and the removal of Inuit children from their families.
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