In conclusion, one might ask are there still blatant methods of reproductive oppression visible in societies today, and the obvious answer is yes, but not just within the cultures that one might first think of. As this is being written, there is an investigation underway by the governments of Denmark and Greenland concerning a birth control program of the Danish government between 1960 and 1991 when at least 4500 Greenlandic women and children (roughly half of the reproductive age during the time) were forced or coerced into having copper IUDs or “coils” implanted to prevent reproduction.[1] Although the findings of this investigation are not expected to be revealed until 2025, there is already belief that the Danish government carried out these procedures in order to reduce population growth, and therefore the cost of housing and welfare programs. There is evidence that the birth rate was cut in half following these procedures. Many of the women who received the coils were in their teens, even as young as twelve and most who have come forward describe severe pain during and after the procedures. Some of the women had permanent damage to their uteruses, preventing them from ever being able to reproduce. A group of over 140 of those affected by the Danish policies of the later twentieth century have band together to sue the government of Denmark over the practices. Furthermore, in 2020 the Danish prime minister formerly apologized to Greenlandic survivors who had been forcibly taken from their homes and communities as children (such as in the case of Australian Aboriginal and indigenous American children) to be sent to Denmark during the 1950s.[2]

[1] Jan M. Olsen, “Indigenous Women in Greenland Sue Denmark Over Involuntary Contraception in the 1960s and 1970s,” AP News, (March 4, 2024).

[2] Olsen, “Indigenous Women in Greenland Sue Denmark.”