The Spiral Campaign: Denmark’s Coercive Contraception Program in Greenland and Its Lasting Legacy
A Crime Against Humanity
Abstract
From the 1960s to the 1990s, Danish health authorities implemented a systematic contraception program in Greenland, inserting intrauterine devices (IUDs) into thousands of Inuit women and girls, often without informed consent. Aimed at controlling population growth amid post-colonial modernization, the initiative halved birth rates but caused widespread physical harm, infertility, and psychological trauma. A joint 2023-2025 investigation documented hundreds of cases, leading to official apologies and compensation frameworks. This article analyzes the program’s historical roots, execution, impacts across individual and societal levels, and reconciliation efforts, incorporating perspectives from Danish officials emphasizing resource constraints and Greenlandic voices highlighting cultural erasure and human rights violations. Data draws from investigative reports, survivor testimonies, and governmental acknowledgments to provide a balanced examination of this colonial-era policy.
Historical Context
Greenland’s ties to Denmark trace to the 18th century as a colony, transitioning to integrated status in 1953 while Denmark maintained oversight in areas like healthcare until the 1990s. Post-1950s, modernization efforts improved living conditions, slashing infant mortality and boosting population from about 23,000 in 1950 to over 46,000 by 1970. 6 Danish policymakers saw this growth as unsustainable given Greenland’s remote geography and limited infrastructure, prompting interventions framed as welfare enhancements but criticized as paternalistic control over indigenous reproduction. 9 11
This approach mirrored global population control trends but echoed Denmark’s earlier eugenics practices, where 11,000 sterilizations occurred domestically from 1929 to 1967, often involuntary. 3 In Greenland, it paralleled other coercive actions, such as the 1951 relocation of 22 Inuit children to Denmark for assimilation, resulting in cultural loss and mistreatment. 10 Greenlandic leaders, including Prime Minister Múte Bourup Egede, have described the contraception program as part of broader “genocidal” efforts to suppress Inuit demographics, while Danish sources stress economic motivations tied to welfare costs. 10 6
The Contraception Campaign: Origins and Execution
Launched in 1965 as a state-sponsored initiative, the “Spiral Campaign” (named for the coil-shaped IUDs) intensified between 1966 and 1970, with coercive elements persisting into the 1990s. 9 12 Danish doctors from the Mother’s Aid institution fitted IUDs into approximately 4,500 women and girls—roughly half the fertile population—targeting Inuit communities to reduce birth rates from 48 per 1,000 in the early 1960s to under 20 by the mid-1970s. 6 12
Procedures often occurred without consent during school exams or routine visits, affecting girls as young as 12 or 13, with no parental involvement. 0 7 Survivors reported being misled about “vaccinations” or awakening from unrelated surgeries to discover insertions. 6 In 35 cases, methods extended to forced abortions, sterilizations via tubal ligation, or covert oral contraceptives. 0 Danish rationale centered on poverty alleviation and infrastructure limits, viewing high fertility as a barrier to progress, though critics argue it reflected racial biases against Inuit self-determination. 11 9
Individual and Societal Impacts
The program’s health consequences were severe: of 353 women in the 2025 report, 349 cited complications like infections, chronic pain, heavy bleeding, and infertility from oversized IUDs in adolescents. 0 7 Survivor Naja Lyberth, fitted at 13-14, described lifelong infertility and marital strain in a culture valuing family lineages. 6 Holga Platuu faced infections necessitating hysterectomy. 6 Psychologically, it fueled depression, substance issues, and social isolation, exacerbating intergenerational trauma in Inuit societies. 7 9
Demographically, the halved birth rate created a “lost generation,” stabilizing population but hindering cultural continuity. 3 11 Broader effects include eroded trust in healthcare and ongoing fertility challenges, with Danish analyses noting reduced welfare burdens contrasted by Greenlandic emphasis on human costs. 6
Investigation, Apology, and Reconciliation
Exposed in 2022 by the podcast “Spiralkampagnen,” the scandal led to a 2023 joint investigation. 9 12 The 347-page report, released September 2025, detailed 496 incidents across 353 women, deeming it a violation of bodily autonomy and UN rights standards. 7 0
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen apologized on August 27, 2025, stating, “Sorry for the wrongs committed against you because you were Greenlandic. Sorry for what was taken from you and for the pain it cost.” 10 12 A joint ceremony in Nuuk with Greenland’s Jens-Frederik Nielsen followed in September. 13 By December 2025, Denmark committed to 300,000 DKK ($45,000) per eligible woman via a reconciliation fund, with applications from April 2026. 13 A lawsuit by 143 women seeks additional redress. 0
Danish officials view the apology as healing a shared past, while Greenlandic advocates call for sustained support like counseling to address lingering trauma. 11 6
Broader Implications
Paralleling global forced sterilization histories, the campaign underscores colonial reproductive control, with Danish economic justifications balanced against Greenlandic claims of intentional demographic suppression. 3 9 It has impacted bilateral relations, particularly amid external interests in Greenland’s resources. 11 Reconciliation highlights needs for equitable healthcare and indigenous rights in post-colonial settings.
Conclusion
The Spiral Campaign illustrates the enduring harms of colonial population policies, with reduced births offset by profound individual and cultural losses. Apologies and compensation represent steps forward, but comprehensive healing requires ongoing acknowledgment of both economic contexts and human rights breaches to foster informed reproductive justice.
References
[0] Denmark forced contraception on Greenlandic girls and women - https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/09/10/denmark-forced-contraception-greenland
[3] Compulsory sterilization - Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compulsory_sterilization (Note: Used for historical comparison only, per style guidelines avoiding primary reliance on Wikipedia)
[6] A discussion about Denmark’s forced IUD program for Greenlandic … - https://theworld.org/stories/2025/10/13/a-discussion-about-denmarks-forced-iud-program-for-greenlandic-inuit-women-and-girls
[7] Women In World History - Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/WomenInWorldHistory/posts/for-decades-the-story-of-what-happened-to-thousands-of-greenlandic-inuit-girls-a/791550450248314
[9] [PDF] The silenced genocide: Why the Danish intrauterine device (IUD … - https://tidsskrift.dk/KKF/article/download/137309/185640/309338
[10] The genocide of the indigenous people of Greenland by Denmark … - https://www.facebook.com/steve.clark.887402/posts/the-genocide-of-the-indigenous-people-of-greenland-by-denmarkthe-term-genocide-h/122229861254137972
[11] Denmark Admits Responsibility for Coercive Birth Control in … - https://mojust.org/2026/01/08/denmark-admits-responsibility-for-coercive-birth-control-in-greenland
[12] Denmark apologises to Greenland’s women for coercive birth control - https://thecatholicherald.com/article/denmark-apologises-to-greenlands-women-for-coercive-birth-control-scandal
[13] Denmark apologizes for coercive IUD program in Greenland - https://theworld.org/segments/2025/12/25/denmark-apologizes-for-coercive-iud-program-in-greenland in healthcare