INUITGREENLANDERSAND WOMEN'SBIRTHCONTROL

By Elena Sofia Uzielli '25

Decisional power over one’s body and informed consent are fundamental human rights We, as people, have the right of respect for our physical and mental integrity.

The case of the Inuit women in Greenland is a prime example of an instance in which this basic human right was violated and/or disregarded entirely.

In June of 2022, Denmark and Greenland formally agreed to commence a two-year investigation into past birth control practices carried out for prolonged periods of time on Inuit Greenlanders by Danish doctors, after multiple women came forth and recounted what was forced onto them decades ago

However, let us first gain a better understanding of what a contraceptive device is. Birth control, also known as contraception, is the use of medicines, devices, or surgery to prevent pregnancy (cit https://medlineplus gov/) There are various types of contraception; some are reversible while others aren’t. The IUD, or intrauterine device, commonly known as coil, is a contraceptive device placed inside the uterus to prevent pregnancy

As recent reports have shown, thousands of coils were fitted during the 1960s and 70s in the country of Denmark; Greenland. This per se would be perfectly in order, but the issue is that it was done unbeknownst to the victims and without their consent Typically, the coils were inserted during an abortion procedure.

Among women fitted with a coil was Naja Lyberth, who at the time was only 13. The Danish government had boarding schools for Inuit children both on Danish soil and on Greenlandic It was following a routine school medical examination that Naja was told to go to a local hospital to have the IUD implanted. In an interview with the BBC Naja stated that she “didn't really know what it [was] because [the doctor] never explained or got my permission.” She further said that she was afraid and couldn’t tell her parents. She remembers doctors in white coats and the “metal things” (stirrups) where “you should spread your legs ” Naja says that the equipment the doctor used was too big for her small body and that it was “like having knives inside [of me].” Now, at age 60, Naja is one of the first women to publicly speak out about what happened to her and so many others

Between 1966 and 1970 over 4500 Inuit women and girls (over half of all fertile females in Greenland) were fitted with coils, some as young as 12 A large portion of those affected suspect that the coil is to blame for their inability to have children.

Another who denounced this injustice is Arnannguaq Poulsen, who had her IUD inserted at 16 The coil was fitted on Danish soil seeing as in 1974 she was studying at a boarding school for Greenlandic children on the island of Bornholm, off the south coast of Sweden. She is sure that the doctors had neither her nor her parents’ consent, seeing as she could only travel home once a year Arnannguaq had the IUD removed at seventeen, one year later, back home in Greenland. Now 64, she told the BBC the following; "I feel that I didn't get a choice back then, and I cannot accept that How would people react if it was Danish women instead of Greenlandic?"

What we must also take into account is that today the IUDs are T-shaped and comparatively small, but in the 1960s they were S-shaped and much larger than today’s.

On the other hand, Katrine Jakobsen, from the capital Nuuk, had a different experience. She was forced to have an IUD fitted when she was twelve, and had it for almost twenty years Throughout this time she suffered a great deal of complications which eventually led to her uterus being removed in her late 30’s “I remember right after the procedure, I was in so much pain that I just sat down in the snow,” Katrine told the BBC n March of 2022 the Danish government formally apologised to six Inuit who were separated from their families in the late 1950s in order to partake in a social experiment based on language acquisition, social interaction, and the creation of a sort of hierarchy in the Arctic territory with Danishspeaking Inuit at the top This is not enough, however, according to Britta Mortensen, a victim of the coil experiment. She thinks there should also be an apology and compensation for all Inuit women forced to use contraception. Her view is supported by the law, because according to Greenland’s Human Rights Council, conventions of privacy and family life were breached. Specialists are currently in the process on determining whether it was a genocide, as was stated by the HRC’s chairperson Qivioq Loevstroem “We don't want a whitewashed report", he adds, stressing the need to have Greenland participate in the investigation.

With the modernised and improved healthcare system and living conditions, it is vital that both governments look into this historic scandal to uncover the decision making process that led to such inhumane actions and make amends for both the survivors and for future generations. Greenland transitioned from a colony to a country of Denmark in 1953, but despite this legal and geopolitical change, many colonial attitudes remained ingrained in people’s brains. Demographics from those decades show a rapid increase in the numbers of the Greenlandic people in the 60s and 70s, so much so that the island’s population had nearly doubled The Danish government saw this as a financial and practical issue, because more people had to be provided with housing and welfare services (education, healthcare, security etc ) For this reason, they decided to limit the growth of the Greenlandic population. After the IUDs were fitted the birth rate halved in just a couple of years.

The Inuit Greenlanders’ case is one of many that portrays the lengths that humankind will go to in order to ensure that a small percentage of people remains untouched and untroubled, while causing harm to an even smaller minority. The Danish government in the second half of the twentieth century wanted to limit the Inuit population for reasons deeply rooted in colonialism and patriotism, and succeeded in doing so as well as succeeding in traumatising and unjustly harming an entire generation of women. Decisional power over one’s own body is a fundamental human right that has been infringed too many times in the course of history, and this is especially true for women. Moving forwards as a society and as a human race, we need to establish clear boundaries and regulations so as to guarantee an equal and safe future for all