The Danish government has changed course and now backs an administrative right of appeal for Greenlandic women in the spiral case. The change comes as an amendment to the compensation bill facing a final vote in the Folketing this week.
DR reports that women covered by the spiral case may now complain administratively if they are refused compensation. The amendment concerns the government bill on a payment of 300,000 kroner to Greenlandic women who had spirals inserted without consent or without sufficient consent.
Health Minister Ida Auken (S) writes in a parliamentary answer that she shares the wish to secure the women administrative appeal access. She adds that she has great understanding for safeguarding the affected women’s rights, according to DR.
In the bill as originally presented, decisions by Patienterstatningen could not be appealed administratively. Women who were refused would instead have had to take their case to the courts. Under the amendment, decisions can be appealed to Ankenævnet for Patienterstatningen.
The bill is scheduled for its second reading on Tuesday, with a final vote set for Thursday. DR reports that it is expected to pass with a large majority. Berlingske reports the same change and restates the timetable for the readings.
The scale of the case
The spiral case concerns girls and women who had spirals inserted by the Danish state from 1960 to 1991 without their knowledge or consent. The practice continued for a period after Greenland took over the health sector in 1992. An investigation from 2025 found that at least 4,070 Greenlandic women had spirals inserted in this way by the end of 1970.
Since 1 July, 201 women have applied for compensation under the bill, according to a parliamentary answer cited by DR. Patienterstatningen stated in June 2026 that applications opened on 1 July, with the law expected to take effect on 1 September 2026. Politiken reported in August 2026 that 171 women had applied in the first month, and that the process runs until 1 September 2028.
Auken also supports a second amendment on the application deadline. It allows Patienterstatningen to disregard the deadline for up to one year after it expires. That can apply in cases of illness, accident, longer stays abroad or other special circumstances.
Two reports commissioned by Greenland on Denmark’s responsibility in the case are published Friday. They include the question of whether Denmark committed genocide. Attorney Jonas Christoffersen, a co-author of one report, has urged the Folketing to postpone the bill until then.
Auken has told Ritzau that the timing is up to the Folketing, but no majority appears to support a delay. In 2025, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (S) and Greenland’s premier, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, apologized in the case.
