Suicide motion is lodged

PROPOSALS to legalise assisted suicide were yesterday lodged in parliament by the MSP behind calls for an overhaul.

Margo MacDonald's End of Life Choices Bill attracted the cross-party support of 18 MSPs.

She will now sit down to draft a more detailed bill with Holyrood officials which is likely to come before parliament's health committee later in the year.

"The support has been right across the board from MSPs and that really pleases me because that's a true reflection of the kind of people who have been writing to us in the consultation," said Ms MacDonald.

The Independent MSP must now wait up to a month to see if the Scottish Government decides to lodge its own bill on the issue.

The proposal allows the terminally ill to seek a doctor's help in dying.