A DUNFERMLINE woman with Motor Neurone Disease is calling for a change in the law to legalise assisted dying in Scotland.

Dawn Morton, 34, of Goulden Place, was diagnosed in 2014 and now requires 24-hour ventilation and care.

The mum-of0one is featured in a new campaign by Dignity in Dying who are campaigning to allow terminally ill, mentally competent adults the choice of an assisted death.

Dawn would like the choice of an assisted death to spare her six-year-old daughter, Abigail, watching her die.

She told the Press: "I think communication is really important.

"At the moment, I have banter with my family and carers but that is going to go eventually.

"I won't be able to speak or move my head.

"I think being fully aware but not able to do anything is the right time for me to go.

"I don't want Abigail to have to watch that every day, it's not what I want.

"If your life expectancy is six months or less that should be the time that you can decide when you want to go and I am fully supportive of that.

"It's really expensive to go to Switzerland and assisted dying should not just be for the super rich – you should be able to die in your own country.

"There definitely needs to be tight guidelines in place though so vulnerable people cannot get coursed into it. Obviously, it is not the answer for everyone.

"I'm hopeful legislation will change, even it some action or dialogue opens from sharing my story."

A poll commissioned by Dignity in Dying Scotland in March shows that almost nine out of 10 Scots questioned now support assisted dying becoming law.

Motor Neurone Disease (MND) is a condition that affects the brain and nerves. It causes weakness that gets worse over time and it's unknown why this happens.

It mainly affects people in their 60s and 70s so Dawn is extremely young to have the disease.

It's always fatal and can significantly shorten life expectancy but some people live with it for many years.

Dawn started to notice symptoms just three months after the birth of her daughter.

"My legs started getting weak and I was struggling to get myself up or up the stairs and I was falling over," she explained

"I just thought it was because I'd given birth but my family said it wasn't normal.

"When I went to the doctor's, I was given tablets for iron deficiency but it was getting worse.

"I was referred to different specialists and the last one was neurology and from there it was a quick diagnosis.

"I'd never been ill in my life. I was really upset but I came up with a plan and just thought I needed to carry on as long as possible."

Dawn has a type of MND that has a two- to five-year life expectancy. For the last two years, she has been bed-bound, paralysed from the neck down and needs help from a breathing apparatus.

She added: "I get out about once a month. It's quite a task to go out and we have to start preparing a few days before.

"Abigail was just one-and-a-half when I was diagnosed so she's just grown up with it, she knows mummy has a disease and she now wants to start doing some fundraising.

"My husband, Will, doesn't like to talk about it and he struggles to say how he feels and think about what the future holds.

"I've just completed memory boxes for everyone, I kept putting that off but I knew I just needed to do it at the start of the year.

"Weirdly, what I miss most is wiggling my toes, the feel of holding a book and cooking and baking.

"I've kept my humour throughout though. I know I'm going to die and I need to just keep enjoying myself."