The Supreme Court of the Netherlands ruled this week that doctors are allowed to euthanize patients with dementia, according to the Catholic News Agency.

The ruling came on the heels of a lower court decision that determined a doctor did not act unlawfully when he euthanized a 74-year-old woman with severe dementia despite her needing to be sedated and restrained as she resisted the procedure.

According to Dutch law, euthanasia is only legal for patients with dementia if they provide written or verbal consent to their doctor while still lucid.

The Supreme Court said the woman had written a directive four years prior to the procedure, requesting euthanization rather than being put in a nursing home.

In the directive, the woman reportedly said she wanted to "be able to decide while still in my senses and when I think the time is right."