The Scottish Parliament will begin taking evidence as part of its consultation on Margo MacDonald’s End of Life Assistance (Scotland) Bill in the first week of September.

Those invited to give evidence include Lord Advocate Elish Angiolini, Rt Hon the Lord Mackay of Clashfern, former Chair the House of Lords Select Committee on the Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill and a range of international academics in the areas of crime, medicine and ethics.

“I am committed professionally. I believe we have a public duty to address the examination, investigation and consultation of this subject area,” MacDonald told the Firm during her campaign to progress the bill.

“With this one, with all the sensitivities involved, we should first of all have a consultation, which I am going to ask the government to do. It shouldn’t be easy to get something as radical as this through. They should examine it minutely and be very, very aware of public opinion.”

In England, The Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer has issued guidance to clarify the Crown’s view on assisted suicide. Despite calls in Scotland, no such guidance has been issued by the Lord Advocate for those in Scotland who may be considering ending the life of a loved one.