Scotland Holyrood to consider proposals after close vote by MSPs

The Scottish parliament has voted to consider a bill to allow assisted dying for terminally ill people for the first time, after a prolonged debate by MSPs.

- Severin Carrell

Holyrood decided by 70 votes to 56 to back the bill, in a free vote that followed months of pre-legislative scrutiny by a cross-party committee that came days before MPs at Westminster vote on passing similar legislation for England and Wales.

Liam McArthur, a Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP, said too many dying people faced "horrendous choices and bad deaths", including unregulated suicides or prolonged trauma because they were denied the right to an assisted death.

In an emotional opening speech, McArthur said voting to block the bill at this early stage, before it is fully considered, would deny choice to the terminally ill, and prevent Holyrood passing a compassionate law.

He said more than 300 million people worldwide lived in countries where assisted dying was legal and working fairly, while closer to home the Isle of Man had passed assisted dying laws and Jersey was close to doing so.