Give terminally ill people choice in how they die, MSP urges Scottish parliament

Liam McArthur, a Scottish Liberal Democrat MP, said voting to block the bill would prevent Holyrood passing a measured and compassionate law. Photograph: Andrew Milligan/PA

Scottish politicians have been urged to show terminally ill people compassion and choice in how they die as they began to debate a new law to permit assisted dying.

Liam McArthur, a Scottish Liberal Democrat MP, 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.