The health minister, Ellen Trane Nørby, is preparing a bill to ban hymen reconstruction – a practice that is becoming increasingly common at private clinics in Denmark.
Artificial reconstruction will not be allowed unless there is a medical purpose. If the law is breached, fines will be enforced.
The hymen is a thin membrane that covers the vaginal opening, and it is commonly believed that it bursts during sexual intercourse for the first time and causes bleeding.
However, according to Wellness Kliniek, this is an exaggeration, as only 44 percent of women experience bleeding when they lose their virginity.
Almost half of reconstructions for the purpose of demonstrating bleeding on a wedding night, for example, are therefore a waste of time.
A message to young women
As well as dispelling some of the myths that surround women bleeding after their first sexual encounter, the minister also wants to raise awareness of old-fashioned ideologies and female oppression.
“The bill comes from my deep desire to modernise the language we use about women’s bodies,” Nørby said.
“I want to send a message to young women that they shouldn’t feel like they’re under pressure to have an invasive procedure to satisfy a myth about what it means to be a woman in 2018.”
Similar to piercings
According to Wellness Kliniek, which offers hymen surgery, the procedure should be carried out four to six weeks before the wedding night.
Under anesthetic, remnants of the hymen are pieced together to close the tear.
The HC Anderson Clinic offers reconstructions for 6,000 kroner.
The head of the clinic, plastic surgeon Jens Pilegaard, confirmed to Ekstra Bladet that there is heavy demand for the procedure.
“It’s similar to girls who want to have piercings on their face,” he told the tabloid.
