Oregon Public Broadcasting

An Oregon aid-in-dying group is defending its contributions to a Washington assisted-suicide initiative.

Oregon Death with Dignity has contributed $300,000 so far to the Yes on I-1000 campaign.

Opponents of Washington’s I-1000 complain that most of that money came from Oregon Death with Dignity’s parent organization -- making it impossible to track individual donors.

But the group’s Peg Sandeen says opponents are the ones trying to skirt the law.

Peg Sandeen: “Human Life Washington has filed a complaint against Washington’s PDC laws in federal court. They are saying that they don’t have to follow Washington’s PDC laws. We have disclosed every name, we have gone to the elections office and asked them how do we do this right?”

Human Life Washington, an anti-abortion group, wants to raise money and run ads opposing assisted suicide. But in court filings the group says it shouldn’t have to register as a political entity and disclose its donor base.

That’s because the group argues it would be engaging in issue advocacy, not political campaigning.