Denmark’s history of forced birth control in Greenland

By Elías Thorsson August 28, 2025
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A man passes a building with social housings with an Inuit mural in Nuuk, Greenland, March 27, 2025. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger

A decades-long reckoning over a Danish-run birth-control program in Greenland, known as the “spiral case” (‘spiral’ is the Danish word for IUD), moved from secrecy to survivor testimony, legal action and finally a formal apology. On August 27, 2025 Denmark apologized to affected women and girls for forced IUD insertions dating back to the 1960s. Below you can read a timeline of this harrowing saga.

Key moments in the spiral case

  • 1966–1970 — Campaign launched.
    Danish health authorities begin the coil campaign. About half of fertile women and girls — some as young as 13 — receive IUDs, often without consent. Roughly 4,500 insertions are recorded in these first five years. Births in Greenland drop about 50% in the early 1970s.
  • 1973 — Parental involvement eased.
    Rules change so doctors in Greenland no longer must involve parents when advising girls 15–18 on birth control, a shift critics say enabled forced insertions.
  • 1974 — Campaign winds down.
    The program continues through 1974, though totals for the final years are unclear.
  • 1991–1992 — Health system transfer.
    Responsibility for Greenland’s health care shifts to Nuuk. Accounts indicate some forced IUD cases persisted after the transfer
  • 2017 — Survivors break the silence.
    Psychologist Naja Lyberth goes public, helping others come forward.
  • May 2022 — DR investigation.
    Denmark’s national broadcaster DR’s podcasts and reporting revive the issue and prompt political demands for an inquiry.
  • March 29, 2023 — Organizing accelerates.
    Survivors coordinate via Facebook, with about 130 women preparing claims.
  • May 30, 2023 — Joint inquiry begins.
    Denmark and Greenland launch a formal investigation, later extended to January 31, 2026.
  • October 2023 — First compensation claims.
    An initial group of 67 women files claims against the Danish state.
  • March 4, 2024 — Lawsuits expand.
    143 women sue Denmark, seeking DKK 43 million (USD ≈ 6.7 million) in total damages.
  • August 27, 2025 — Formal apology.
    Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen apologized “on behalf of Denmark” for forced birth control.