Oregon Public Broadcasting

Sponsors of Washington State’s assisted suicide ballot measure are criticizing the Catholic Church. They say church contributions to defeat I-1000 should instead go to victims of sex abuse within the church.

Anne Martens is with the Death with Dignity campaign. She says the bulk of the opposition money is coming from out-of-state dioceses -- including some that have been sued for sex abuse.

Anne Martens: “They put their money where their mouth is and clearly it’s more important to them to impose their religious beliefs on the people of Washington than it is to take care of the victims of abuse in their own states.”

Sister Sharon Park of the Washington State Catholic Conference says there’s no connection between the two issues – and calls the criticism a red herring.

The Catholic Church hopes to raise at least $700,000 to defeat the Oregon-style measure. It would allow doctors to prescribe lethal doses of medication to terminally ill patients.