A Greenlandic mother’s one-hour-old baby was removed from her by Danish authorities after she underwent “parenting competence” tests – despite a new law banning the use of the controversial psychometric assessments on people with Greenlandic backgrounds.
The “parenting competence” tests, known as FKU (forældrekompetenceundersøgelse), were banned on people with Greenlandic backgrounds earlier this year after years of criticism by campaigners and human rights bodies, who argued successfully that the tests were racist because they were culturally unsuitable for people from Inuit backgrounds. As the law came into force in May, campaigners are asking why Brønlund was still subjected to a test.
Brønlund was told that her baby was removed because of the trauma she had suffered at the hands of her adoptive father, who is in prison for sexually abusing her. The municipality told her she was “not Greenlandic enough” for the new law banning the tests to apply, despite her being born in Greenland of Greenlandic parents.
assessments for people’s “fitness” for having children is a cornerstone of eugenics and it’s current incarnation exists in institutions lilke child protective services within the united states.
I’d say there’s a difference between assessing people’s fitness to have children, and their fitness to raise children. The latter is a lot less eugenics-related, and clearly necessary in some form to protect children from being abused by their parents.
Though of course it isn’t always done perfectly or even well.