Denmark Publicly Apologizes for Involuntary Birth Control in Greenland

From 1966 to 1991, thousands of Greenlandic women and girls as young as 13 years old were fitted with intrauterine birth control devices without their knowledge or consent under the direction of Danish authorities. Records of 4,500 women—about half of the 9,000 women of fertile age living in the country at the time—who were victims to the campaign came to light in 2022. Denmark publicly apologized in August to the women.^{1 2}

“We cannot change what has happened. But we can take responsibility. Therefore, on behalf of Denmark, I would like to say: Sorry,” Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen stated publicly.¹

Intrauterine Devices Placed in Uterus of 4,500 Women

The intrauterine device is commonly known as a coil and is placed inside the uterus to prevent pregnancy. It is unclear how many of the 4,500 cases lacked informed consent. Dozens have come forward sharing traumatic personal experiences and many were left sterile.²

An early intrauterine device (IUD) called the Lippes Loop was used also used for the population control campaign. It was designed for adult women who had already gone through childbirth but was inserted into girls as young as 12.³

“I could not imagine the pain you would have from placing this thing into a small cavity,” said gynecologist Aviaja Siegstad, MD.³

Complications from the Lippes Loop ranged from severe bleeding to infection, persist pain, and even infertility.³

As recently as the mid 1990s, Dr. Siegstad was working with patients being assessed for infertility, only to find they had IUDs that they didn’t know about. Some women were led to having their uteruses removed entirely after years of pain.³

Women Seek Compensation for Forced Contraception

A group of 143 women who were victims and are now in their 70s and 80s have sought compensation in court from Denmark, 138 of them being under 18 at the time. The country has yet to provide compensation, citing an ongoing investigation.²

Birth Control Campaign Severely Slowed Population

The birth control campaign was so widespread that it severely slowed Greenland’s population. Former Prime Minister of Greenland, Mute B Egede, said it was “genocide”.²

Psychologist Naja Lyberth told the BBC:

An apology, that’s nice of course, and makes my clients happy. That’s part of what they need. What we’ve not heard anything about is whether they also admit or agree was that they that this was a human rights violation.²

Greenland was a Danish colony until 1953 and did not gain home rule until 1979. Copenhagen continued to oversee the country’s healthcare until 1992. A few cases of forced contraception also took place after 1992, and as late as 2018.²

The campaign is one of several cases that have emerged in recent years of allegations of misconduct by Danish authorities against the people of Greenland. In 2022, Denmark publicly apologized to victims who were part of a 1950s experiment involving forced adoptions where Inuit children from Greenland were taken from their homes and given to families in Denmark.²

Birth Control Campaign Done Largely for Financial Purposes

Both Greenland and Denmark agreed to investigate the birth control scandal in 2022. At that time, Danish historian Soeren Rud told the BBC that the rationale for the policy was partly financial, but also the result of colonial attitudes toward the Inuit people.²

After World War II, Greenland’s tiny population skyrocketed, and by 1970 it had almost doubled. Rud told the BBC that Denmark wanted to limit the growth of the population and reduce “the challenges of providing housing and welfare services.”²

By 1970, the campaign as considered a “success” as Greenland’s fertility rate plunged from seven children per woman to 2.3.³

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