The Scottish parliament voted on Tuesday in favour of a bill that would allow people living in Scotland with a terminal illness to take their own lives, bringing the proposal a step closer to becoming a reality in the country.

Scotland’s parliament has passed the first stage of a bill that would allow the terminally ill to end their own lives, taking the country a step closer to joining others that have passed similar legislation on assisted dying.

There is nothing in the Bill to say they have to, nor is there anything to say they do not have to, she said, adding on the Parliament Matters podcast that this is “the best position to be in” and that nobody should be “dictating to hospices what they do and don’t do around assisted dying”.