– Firstly, we had an IUD inserted without knowing it, and in that way we have been sterilized for a shorter or longer time, moreover, there was very poor aftercare – many of us went to the doctor with pain, internal bleeding and stomach infections, but was not taken seriously. That’s what Greenlandic Naja Lyberth says, who was the first woman to come out and tell her story. Danish authorities are said to have been concerned about the costs of a population increase in Greenland and had Danish doctors insert IUDs in fertile women, many without their consent, or the women knowing about it, according to DR. – For several, it has ended up that they have had their uterus removed, lost the ability to have children or had other physical late effects, says Naja Lyberth. Naja Lyberth was 14 years old and was confirmed in 1976. The same year she got an IUD. – I could not fight against Naja Lyberth was 14 years old when she had an IUD inserted by a Danish doctor in Maniitsoq in 1976. Without her choosing it herself. – I couldn’t fight back. I was not brought up to speak out against the authorities. I wish I had done it, but I couldn’t as a 14-year-old, says Naja. Although the IUD was intended to protect the Greenlandic women, the effects were often trauma, pain and discomfort. The spiral, of the Lippes Loop type, was far more painful than today’s spiral variants. – It was hell. I had this foreign body inside me for several years. I had to walk home from school because of severe period pains. It was so painful. I had gotten my period before the IUD, but this was something else. After the IUD, it just hurt like crazy, Naja remembers. Naja Lyberth says the spiral in her uterus felt like a knife. – It felt like an assault. That the state took my virginity, she says almost 50 years later. Photo: Peter Langkilde / DR Investigated by a research team The summons from these women comes before a research team from Greenland and Denmark has finished investigating the legal basis for IUD insertions in Greenland, writes Danmarks radio. – I believe there is enough documentation that it can already be established that some violations have occurred, says the woman’s defender Mads Pramming to P1 Morgen. He represents the 67 women and has delivered the summons to Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. According to Pramming, the claim is set at DKK 300,000 in compensation based on the practice of the European Court of Human Rights. Danmarks Radio (DR) was the first to break the news about the subpoena. Contraception with spiral Photo: DR Lippes Loop is a contraceptive that first became available in 1962. It was used frequently to drive down the birth rate in Greenland until the end of the 20th century. Lippes Loop is placed directly in the uterus and is shaped like a spiral. Thus, it has also given its name to the form of contraception itself. It works as a contraceptive because it is a foreign body in the uterus, so the body tries to repel it. This also rejects sperm and fertilized eggs. Today, the smaller, t-shaped copper coils and hormone coils are primarily used. The copper in a copper IUD prevents the sperm from reaching the cervix, while the hormones in a hormonal IUD ensure that the sperm do not enter the cervix. Both types of spirals are brought up in a folded state in a thin plastic tube. Then they unfold. Today’s IUDs are much easier and gentler to set up and can also be used by women who have not had children yet. Needs speed Mads Pramming believes that the compensation case and the research can go on at the same time. He points out that many of the women he represents are older and therefore cannot wait too long for a decision. – We risk having to wait for something that will drag on for years, which really only establishes what we already know, namely that it was a campaign and a desire to reduce population growth in Greenland, he says. This is what a Lippes Loop coil looks like when it is pulled out of the packaging. Photo: Washington Area Spark / Flickr The research team’s investigation was originally supposed to be completed in October 2024, but has been delayed due to last year’s general election in Denmark and difficulties in finding a qualified research team. This means that the team’s research will not be completed until May 2025. Aaja Chemnitz is a member of the Norwegian Parliament for the Greenlandic government party IA (Inuit Ataqatigiit). She believes that the research and the compensation claim from the women must be seen as two parallel tracks. – It is important to know what has happened both politically and socially. And that is what the research will give us a picture of in 2025, she says. However, she does not believe that they are prerequisites for each other, but believes that they support an overall picture. Investigation: More than 4,500 women received IUDs An investigation DR presented in May 2022 showed that more than 4,500 Greenlandic women and girls were given IUDs between 1960 and 1991. This corresponds to approximately half of all Greenlandic women of reproductive age at that time. It is described as a Danish spiral campaign to reduce the number of births on the island. Most did not consent to the operation, and in several cases the parents were not informed. Several women have said that they only discovered the coils they had in them after several decades. Wants the state to apologize Defense attorney Mads Pramming says the whole case is about the state apologizing and acknowledging that what happened was wrong. – That’s why money is also required, because that way the state can show that it wants to try to sort things out again, he says. Minister of the Interior and Health Sophie Løhde (V) made the following statement to DR: – It is a deeply unhappy case, and the women’s stories make a big impression on me. It is important that we get to the bottom of what happened, and therefore a research team is currently conducting an impartial investigation.
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Women from Greenland challenge the Danish state – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
