Supporters of the late-term ban got a last-minute boost from the American Medical Association (AMA), which endorsed the ban on so-called "partial-birth" abortions on Monday.

CNN: Senate OKs Late-Term Abortion Ban

According to the American Medical association (AMA), nearly 200 billion dollars is spent on defensive medicine annually, a direct consequence of the current structure of the malpractice litigation system.

FORBES: Medical Malpractice: Broken Beyond Repair?

Last month, a key policy committee of the American Medical Association recommended that the AMA formally support a plan for Medicare reform that tracks closely with the one proposed by Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, and Ron Wyden.

FORBES: Move up http://i.forbesimg.com t Move down

Dr. PRISCILLA RAY (Chair, American Medical Association Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs): The AMA's position is that while a position on the death penalty is up to each individual person's moral and ethical beliefs, that physicians should not participate in executions.

NPR: The Medical Ethics of the Death Penalty