Government backs appeals in Greenland spiral compensation case

The Danish government will support administrative appeals for Greenlandic women who are denied compensation in the spiral case, DR reports. The change is included in an amendment to a bill proposing compensation of 300,000 kroner for women who were fitted with intrauterine devices without their consent or without sufficient consent.

“I fully understand the need to protect the rights of the women affected, and I therefore support the wish to ensure that the women have access to administrative appeals,” Health Minister Ida Auken wrote in a parliamentary response.

The bill will receive its second reading on Tuesday and is expected to pass with a large majority on Thursday.

Under the original bill, decisions by Patient Compensation could not be appealed through the administrative system. Women whose claims were rejected would instead have had to take their cases to court.

Under the amendment, decisions by Patient Compensation can be appealed to the Appeals Board for Patient Compensation.

Two reports commissioned by Greenland on Denmark’s responsibility in the case, including whether Denmark committed genocide, will be published on Friday.

Since 1 July, 201 women have applied for compensation under the bill, according to a parliamentary response.

Lawyer Jonas Christoffersen, one of the authors of one of the reports, has urged Parliament to postpone consideration of the compensation bill until the reports are published. Auken has told news agency Ritzau that the decision rests with Parliament, but there does not appear to be a majority in favour of postponement.

The application deadline is also set to change. The original proposal did not allow Patient Compensation to grant exemptions, but Auken now supports an amendment allowing exceptions in special cases.

Patient Compensation would be able to waive the deadline for up to one year after it expires. This could apply if a woman was unable to apply on time because of illness, an accident, a prolonged stay abroad or other special circumstances.

The spiral programme concerned girls and women who were fitted with intrauterine devices by the Danish state without their knowledge or consent between 1960 and 1991. The practice continued for a period after Greenland took over responsibility for healthcare in 1992.

A 2025 investigation found that at least 4,070 Greenlandic women had been fitted with intrauterine devices in this way by the end of 1970.

The programme was initially viewed as part of Greenland’s modernisation. According to the investigation, one rationale was that slower population growth would reduce pressure on housing, schools, healthcare and social spending.

In 2025, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland’s head of government, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, apologised on behalf of Denmark and Greenland.