Indigenous women in Greenland sue Denmark over involuntary contraception in the 1960s and 1970s
A group of Indigenous women in Greenland has sued Denmark for forcing them to be fitted with intrauterine contraceptive devices in the 1960s and 1970s and demanded total compensation of nearly $6.3 million)
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A group of Indigenous women in Greenland has sued Denmark for forcing them to be fitted with intrauterine contraceptive devices in the 1960s and 1970s and demanded total compensation of nearly 43 million kroner ($6.3 million), their lawyer said Monday.
The 143 Inuit women say Danish health authorities violated their human rights when they fitted them with the devices, commonly known as coils. Some of the women — including many who were teenagers at the time — were not aware of what happened or did not consent to the intervention.
They each are demanding 300,000 kroner ($44,000), the women’s lawyer, Mads Pramming, told The Associated Press.
The purpose was allegedly to limit population growth in Greenland by preventing pregnancies. The population on the Arctic island was rapidly increasing at the time because of better living conditions and better health care. The small T-shaped device, made from plastic and copper and fitted in the uterus, prevents sperm from fertilizing an egg.
