Is the exam exclusively on paper or is there a verbal option? Paper exams can be stressful for anyone, so if you find that explaining things to a person much easier, perhaps you can ask for an accommodation to take the exam with a proctor verbally rather than written. Good luck!

From some research online, pain experiences are variable and there is no singular approach to IUD insertion. There are some shortcomings in the first study as it doesn’t show pain levels in the days after, but it does a better job of quantifying that most women feel less pain than they expect to receive. Sedation should be available to those who need it, and I think our definitions of what constitutes as inhumane are different and I’m okay with that.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5683140/

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/whitecoat/iud-pain-birth-control-1.6480281

Those statistics are really meaningful. Would you mind linking your source for some further research?

The point of offering my perspective is to highlight that even though some places in Canada may offer sedation with insertion or removal, it is not ubiquitous or necessarily free. Many clinics charge extreme prices for what is considered “optional” services like anasthetics in cases where it is not considered medically necessary.

I am not arguing that women’s pain isn’t taken seriously. Nor am I saying that my procedures were painless and pleasant. I’ve spent over 7 years trying to get proper clinical diagnosis of a chronic pain condition and I am well acquainted with medical downplay of symptoms.

Perhaps I can better articulate that while the services are available here, they are often inaccessible to most women, and thus, not something to speak highly of or as an ideal standard of care. Our medical system routinely fails women, people of colour, non-binary people’s and those of minority groups while those with affluence can get better standards of care easily.

I find that really disenheartening, and I’m sorry American people have to go through that. I’m not certain if sedation is available to those who ask for it in most clinics, but I’m glad your friend found a clinic who could help them.

You can get numbed and sedated? I’ve had two IUD inserted in Canada with no option of numbing or sedation. I understand why some might want it, but it’s not standard practice here, nor would I consider it inhumane to perform it without.