“Dishonourable disobedience” – Why refusal to treat in reproductive healthcare is not conscientious objection

In medicine, the vast majority of conscientious objection (CO) is exercised within the reproductive healthcare field – particularly for abortion and contraception. Current laws and practices in various countries around CO in reproductive healthcare show that it is unworkable and frequently abused, with harmful impacts on women's healthcare and rights. CO in medicine is supposedly analogous to CO in the military, but in fact the two have little in common. This paper argues that CO in reproductive health is not actually Conscientious Objection, but Dishonourable Disobedience (DD) to laws and ethical codes. Healthcare professionals who exercise CO are using their position of trust and authority to impose their personal beliefs on patients, who are completely dependent on them for essential healthcare. Health systems and institutions that prohibit staff from providing abortion or contraception services are being discriminatory by systematically denying healthcare services to a vulnerable population and disregarding conscience rights for abortion providers. CO in reproductive healthcare should be dealt with like any other failure to perform one's professional duty, through enforcement and disciplinary measures. Counteracting institutional CO may require governmental or even international intervention.

Parameters of population dynamics and energetics of ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi in Sevastopol Bay from January 1995 to March 1996

Population dynamics of abundance and biomass were studied and specific production of population of ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi was estimated in the Sevastopol Bay from January 1995 to March 1996. The ctenophores achieved maximum abundance and biomass in July during period of intensive reproduction. Young specimens (<5 mm) contributed during that period as much as 50-87% to total abundance of population. Annually averaged daily specific growth rate was 0.039. Growth, food consumption, and rate of filtration were measured in a laboratory under two concentrations of food (Acartia clausi and Moina micrura: 60 and 100 specimens per liter, 0.35 and 0.60 mg wet weight/l). Both concentrations sustained growth of animals with dry weight less than 20 mg. However these concentrations were insufficient to sustain growth of larger ctenophores. Specific growth rate of the ctenophores with dry weight <20 mg under favorable food conditions was 0.20-0.30 l/day. Specific growth rate of the ctenophores in the Sevastopol Bay never exceeded 0.093 l/day, mean biomass of fodder zooplankton in the bay being 90 mg/m**3 in terms of wet weight. Hence a conclusion was made that population of M. leidyi in the bay was limited by lack of food.

(Table 1) Reproductive performance of brown skua pairs with and without feeding territories at Potter Peninsula/King George Island from 1998/1999 to 2000/2001

In the maritime Antarctic, brown skuas (Catharacta antarctica lonnbergi) show two foraging strategies: some pairs occupy feeding territories in penguin colonies, while others can only feed in unoccupied areas of a penguin colony without defending a feeding territory. One-third of the studied breeding skua population in the South Shetlands occupied territories of varying size (48 to >3,000 penguin nests) and monopolised 93% of all penguin nests in sub-colonies. Skuas without feeding territories foraged in only 7% of penguin sub-colonies and in part of the main colony. Females owning feeding territories were larger in body size than females without feeding territories; no differences in size were found in males. Territory holders permanently controlled their resources but defence power diminished towards the end of the reproductive season. Territory ownership guaranteed sufficient food supply and led to a 5.5 days earlier egg-laying and chick-hatching. Short distances between nest and foraging site allowed territorial pairs a higher nest-attendance rate such that their chicks survived better (71%) than chicks from skua pairs without feeding territories (45%). Due to lower hatching success in territorial pairs, no difference in breeding success of pairs with and without feeding territories was found in 3 years. We conclude that skuas owning feeding territories in penguin colonies benefit from the predictable and stable food resource by an earlier termination of the annual breeding cycle and higher offspring survivorship.

Barnacle recurit density, biomass, and reproductive output measured in rocky intertidal habitats in Glasgow Head, on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada

Through a field experiment, we show that a predator has negative nonconsumptive effects (NCEs) on different life-history stages of the same prey species. Shortly before the recruitment season of the barnacle Semibalanus balanoides (May-June), we established experimental cages in rocky intertidal habitats in Nova Scotia, Canada. The cages were used to manipulate the presence and absence of dogwhelks, Nucella lapillus, the main predators of barnacles. At the centre of each cage, we installed a tile where barnacle pelagic larvae could settle and the resulting recruits grow. Mesh prevented caged dogwhelks from accessing the tiles, but allowed waterborne dogwhelk cues to reach the tiles. Results in May indicated that barnacle larvae settled preferentially on tiles from cages without dogwhelks. In November, at the end of the dogwhelk activity period and once the barnacle recruits had grown to adult size, barnacle body mass was lower in the presence of dogwhelks. This limitation may have resulted from a lower barnacle feeding activity with nearby dogwhelks, as found by a previous study. The observed larval and adult responses in barnacles are consistent with attempts to decrease predation risk. November data also indicated that dogwhelk cues limited barnacle reproductive output, a possible consequence of the limited growth of barnacles. Overall, this study suggests that a predator species might influence trait evolution in a prey species through NCEs on different life-history stages.

Adult acclimation to combined temperature and pH stressors significantly enhances reproductive outcomes compared to short-term exposures

This study examined the effects of long-term culture under altered conditions on the Antarctic sea urchin, Sterechinus neumayeri. Sterechinus neumayeri was cultured under the combined environmental stressors of lowered pH (-0.3 and -0.5 pH units) and increased temperature (+2 °C) for 2 years. This time-scale covered two full reproductive cycles in this species and analyses included studies on both adult metabolism and larval development. Adults took at least 6-8 months to acclimate to the altered conditions, but beyond this, there was no detectable effect of temperature or pH. Animals were spawned after 6 and 17 months exposure to altered conditions, with markedly different outcomes. At 6 months, the percentage hatching and larval survival rates were greatest in the animals kept at 0 °C under current pH conditions, whilst those under lowered pH and +2 °C performed significantly less well. After 17 months, performance was not significantly different across treatments, including controls. However, under the altered conditions urchins produced larger eggs compared with control animals. These data show that under long-term culture adult S. neumayeri appear to acclimate their metabolic and reproductive physiology to the combined stressors of altered pH and increased temperature, with relatively little measureable effect. They also emphasize the importance of long-term studies in evaluating effects of altered pH, particularly in slow developing marine species with long gonad maturation times, as the effects of altered conditions cannot be accurately evaluated unless gonads have fully matured under the new conditions.