Morning Extra - 20/03/2009

Should people be allowed to travel abroad to commit suicide? The former health secretary in England and Wales, Patricia Hewitt, is calling for a change in English law to allow people to take terminally ill patients abroad for assisted suicides. The law as it stands, both in England and Scotland, isn't entirely clear. Under Scots law, assisting another person to commit suicide may amount to the crime of culpable homicide, but it depends on circumstances and ultimately it's for the Lord Advocate to decide whether a prosecution is in the public interest. That's why Margo Macdonald is attempting to bring a bill before the Scottish Parliament to legalise assisted suicide. However, she hasn't managed to convince many of her fellow MSPs. Graham Stewart takes your calls, texts and emails.