Doctors in the Netherlands were allowed to euthanize patients with severe dementia without fear of being tried, even if the patient does not express a clear desire to die, The Guardian reported.

The supreme court’s decision followed a case last year in which a doctor was acquitted of wrongdoing for euthanizing a woman in 2016 with severe Alzheimer’s who had requested the procedure before her condition deteriorated.

Prosecutors accused the doctors of euthanizing his 74-year-old patient without consulting her properly, as she might change her mind.

The case was transferred to the Supreme Court to make a clear classification of the conditions of euthanasia in the interests of the law.

According to a court order, a doctor can give a written request for euthanasia for patients with advanced dementia. Moreover, the patient must have “unbearable and endless suffering” and that at least two doctors must have agreed to carry out the procedure.