Denmark and Greenland apologize for forced IUDs on Inuit women

Denmark and Greenland issued a joint apology Wednesday for the forced insertion of intrauterine contraceptive devices in thousands of Greenlandic Inuit women and girls from the 1960s into the 1990s, acknowledging systematic discrimination and long-term harm. Officials said the practice, which authorities now say affected as many as 4,500 women and girls and may have reached roughly half of Greenland’s women of childbearing age at the time, was carried out without meaningful consent in many cases. The apology comes ahead of the publication next month of a long-awaited investigative report into the matter.

In a joint statement, Denmark’s prime minister said the past cannot be changed but responsibility can be taken. On behalf of Denmark she expressed regret and acknowledged both physical and psychological harm suffered by the victims. Greenland’s prime minister described the episode as a dark chapter in the autonomous territory’s history and also offered an apology, noting Greenland’s own role in cases that occurred after it assumed responsibility for health services in 1992.

The issue has been the subject of growing public attention since survivors began speaking out several...