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Henriette Berthelsen is among the many Greenlandic girls and women who had IUDs inserted without their consent. After years of silence, Mette Frederiksen is now offering them an official apology.

»It hurt so incredibly much«: She had to wait 54 years for an apology

Henriette Berthelsen, 67, is one of the Greenlandic women who had an IUD inserted against her will. Foto: Mads Nissen
Henriette Berthelsen, 67, is one of the Greenlandic women who had an IUD inserted against her will. Foto: Mads Nissen

Henriette Berthelsen recalls seeing a note on the bulletin board at her boarding school that stated: »All Greenlandic girls are requested to go to the doctor to have an IUD inserted.«

None of the Danish girls at the boarding school in Nuuk were required to visit the doctor, but Greenlandic Henriette Berthelsen had to go to the doctor for the first time at age 13 to have an IUD inserted. Over the following years, she was subjected to this procedure nine more times against her will and without her parents’ consent, using tools she describes as far too large for a young girl’s uterus.

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