COPENHAGEN, Aug 28 (Bernama-dpa) — Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has apologised on behalf of the Danish state to Greenlandic women who underwent contraceptive procedures without their consent, reported German Press Agency (dpa).
“We cannot change what has happened. But we can take responsibility,” Frederiksen said in a statement on Wednesday.
A few years ago, it came to light that Danish doctors had inserted intrauterine devices (IUDs), also known as the contraceptive coil, into Greenlandic women and girls without their consent, particularly in the 1960s and 1970s.
The Danish Institute for Human Rights said some Greenlandic girls subjected to the involuntary procedures were as young as 12.
Danish authorities, who were responsible for health care in Greenland until 1992, are suspected of wanting to limit population growth on the island.
According to the Institute for Human Rights, contraceptive procedures are still being performed in Greenland, which is now largely autonomous, without the consent of girls and women.
Greenland’s prime minister, Jens Frederik Nielsen, has apologised for all cases in which women have had IUDs inserted or other procedures performed without their consent since the Greenlandic state took over the health care system, according to Frederiksen’s statement.
The Danish and Greenlandic governments launched an investigation in 2022 into the contraceptive coil scandal, which is due to be completed in September.
In early 2024, 143 Greenlandic women who were forcibly fitted with IUDs filed a lawsuit against the Danish state for human rights violations, each seeking 300,000 Danish kroner (US$46,760) in compensation.
–BERNAMA-dpa