Association of American Physicians and Surgeons

The association, which was formed in 1943 and has about 3,000 dues-paying members, has taken on issues beyond traditional medical topics. More than a decade ago, the group unsuccessfully urged the United States Supreme Court to release post-mortem photographs of a former Clinton administration official, Vincent Foster, arguing that they were needed to make certain that Mr. Foster, whose death was attributed to suicide, had not been murdered. Its periodical, The Journal of the American Physicians and Surgeons, has published reports suggesting a link between abortions and higher rates of breast cancer, an idea rejected by an expert panel of the National Cancer Institute. Another report contended that illegal immigrants brought disease into the country and benefited if their babies were born with disabilities.