In an emotional address in Nuuk, Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen officially apologized to Greenlandic women affected by a controversial birth control program from the 1960s and 70s. This program led to thousands of Inuit women being forcibly fitted with contraceptive coils without their consent. Frederiksen’s apology was delivered to a packed venue, acknowledging the injustices and pain caused by this program. The event saw a powerful moment of protest when a woman stood with her back to the prime minister, a black handprint painted on her mouth.
Naja Lyberth, an Inuit Greenlander and one of the first to speak out on the issue, emphasized the necessity of the apology for moving forward and praised the inquiry that highlighted the extent of the program’s impact. The investigation concluded that by 1970, over 4,000 women had been forced to have coils implanted, covering half the Greenlandic females of childbearing age. The inquiry found over 300 cases where girls as young as 12 were affected, with neither their consent nor knowledge.
In her apology, Frederiksen acknowledged the trauma and physical complications endured by many women, some of whom were left unable to have children. However, the apology has been met with disappointment by those like Elisa Christensen, due to the absence of any mention of compensation.
Ahead of the apology, Frederiksen proposed the creation of a “reconciliation fund” to offer payouts to Greenlanders who faced systematic discrimination. The specifics of this fund and its beneficiaries remain unclear. A group of 143 women, including Aviaq Petersen, has filed a lawsuit seeking compensation. Petersen, who discovered an IUD had been inserted without her knowledge during an abortion, hopes for a formal reconciliation process despite her skepticism about the apology’s timing.
Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen described these events as one of the darkest chapters in the country’s history. Greenland, which transitioned from a Danish colony to a self-governing part of the Kingdom of Denmark, maintained Danish oversight of its healthcare system until 1992. The apologies from both Greenland’s and Denmark’s leaders mark significant steps toward addressing this historical injustice, though questions remain about tangible reconciliation efforts.