Sedation 100% is a medical necessity. Firstly, it hurts a lot without it. Secondly, if you need polyp removal, that's going to burn like hell.

It does seem like the parent is confused.

I haven't heard of any jurisdiction where putting someone under for colonoscopies, outside of extreme cases, is the standard expectation.

Not even for fancy private hospitals, way too high of a risk-reward ratio.

It is really common to be out on full anesthesia for a colonoscopy. I’m confused by your comment. At least in the USA, I think it is standard and they don’t really talk about any other options.

I am in former soviet country. My relative is refusing to go for optional surgery, bcos they would put her under full anesthesia. She already had "too many anesthesias" in her life, and her brain may not take it well.

Anesthesia in many cultures is seen as a "drug use" and avoided. It has several risks, including death. In many cases it includes needle into backbone.

I’ve only been under twice: did a colonoscopy and for wisdom teeth removal. In both cases, it was simply finding a vein on my arm and I was out cold pretty quickly with a weird gap in memory when I came back. It didn’t sound like taking a risk, at least as it was sold to me.

I think we're confusing general anesthesia (not generally used for colonoscopies in the US) with sedation with something like propofol which is pretty common.