The Care Not Killing alliance today called on its supporters to begin a major national letter writing campaign against the Joffe Bill on physician assisted suicide.

Lord Joffe's Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Bill will have its second reading in the House of Lords on 12 May. Care Not Killing supporters, and all others who oppose what amounts to back door euthanasia, are urged to write both to Peers - to encourage them to attend the Lords' debates and vote down the Bill - and also to their MPs to use their influence to oppose the Bill in other ways.

On its website Care NOT Killing sets out the best approach to this sort of political action, including an easy way to find the name of your local MP if you do not know who he or she is. Care NOT Killing also suggests choosing a number of Peers to write to, perhaps those with surnames starting with the same letter as their own.

The action comes hard on the heels of the distribution of over half a million leaflets on assisted suicide and 12,000 'Doctors speak on assisted dying' DVDs through the churches. The letter writing campaign will run alongside a major petition initiated by Care NOT Killing against the Joffe Bill.

Dr Brian Iddon MP, Chairman of Care NOT Killing, commented: 'Our thirty member organisations, and many thousands of supporters up and down the country are all working in unison to oppose the Bill.

'But there is no doubt that the one of the most effective approaches is to contact Parliamentarians directly. A short letter – comprising just one short paragraph – will really help to influence the debate. I urge people to get involved in order to let parliament know what ordinary people think.'