A Dutch doctor has been acquitted of breaking euthanasia laws in a landmark case over ending the life of a 74-year-old woman.

The unnamed doctor had been accused by prosecutors of failing to consult the woman who had Alzheimer's.

But a judge today ruled that a declaration written by the patient four years earlier had sufficed.

The Hague District Court heard that the patient had to be held down by her family after a lethal dose of a drug was administered by the doctor.

The Hague District Court (pictured above) heard that the doctor had the right to abide by the 74-year-old woman's wishes (stock image of court)

The court in the Netherlands heard that the doctor had the right to abide by the woman's wishes.

Judge Mariette Renckens told the court in the Hague that it concluded that 'all requirements of the euthanasia legislation had been met'.

'We believe that given the deeply demented condition of the patient the doctor did not need to verify her wish for euthanasia.'

It is the first case of its kind to have gone to trial and had centered on whether the woman had given her consent.

The doctor's lawyer Robert-Jan van Eenennaam (pictured above) said the judges had been 'very clear' about the verdict

The doctor administered the second part of the sedative by an injection (stock image above of a doctor with a syringe)

The law on Euthanasia in the Netherlands In the Netherlands the term euthanasia legally covers cases in which those in the medical profession administer lethal injections, or when a doctor provides drugs to a patient to end their life. The Dutch system respects the relationship between a doctor and their patient and recognises how debilitating some illnesses can be. The landmark law in the Netherlands came into play in 2002. There had been protests at the time after Dutch parliament voted to legalise the practice, which had been taking place unofficially for around 30 years. Dutch doctors must abide to strict rules or they will face prosecution. Els Borst (pictured above) had guided the bill through parliament The law insists patients must have made a well-considered and voluntary request to die. It must also be seen that they would be facing a future of ‘unbearable suffering’ and that there is no ‘reasonable alternative’. A second doctor must then be consulted and life must then be ended in a medically appropriate way. The bill had been opposed by Christian political parties. Democrats 66, party of the Health Minister at the time Els Borst had guided the bill through parliament. Euthanasia had been discretely used in Dutch hospitals since 1993. Advertisement

In a written statement the patient had previously said that she wanted to be euthanised rather than being put into a care home.

She highlighted that she 'wanted to be able to decide' when she died, while she was 'still in her senses'.

Despite the ruling today prosecution service spokeswoman Sanna van der Harg said the case had been taken to court as there were still questions to be answered by the doctor.

'A crucial question to this case is how long a doctor should continue consulting a patient with dementia, if the patient in an earlier stage already requested euthanasia.

'We do not doubt the doctor's honest intentions. A more intensive discussion with the patient' could have taken place before the decision to end her life.'

Before being taken into a care home, the doctor decided it was appropriate to euthanise the patient and confirmed it with two other doctors before setting a date for her death.

On the day the doctor put a sedative into the patients drink, after half an hour she felt sleepy, but could not sleep.

The second part of the sedative was then administered by injection.

While the patient slept the doctor then administered a lethal dose of a different drug, however the woman woke and had to be held down by her family in order to receive the final injection.

The woman's daughter said her mother had been 'freed from the mental prison which she ended up in'.

The lawyer representing the 68-year-old doctor, who was not in court, said his client would be delighted with the verdict.

Robert-Jan van Eenennaam said: 'The judges were very clear in their verdict that she acted in the correct manner. But my client still feels that a criminal case was not the correct way to deal with the issue. She has been through a lot these past few months.'

Sanne van der Harg added that 'clearly the judges thought about it differently than we did.'

'We will now carefully study the verdict and decide at a later stage whether we will lodge an appeal,' the spokeswoman added.

In June a Dutch teenager died after she starved to death at home after medics allowed her to refuse food and drink.

Noa Pothoven, 17, died after she stopped eating and drinking under medical supervision

Noa Pothoven, 17, who wrote a book about her long battle with anorexia, severe depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, died on June 7.

Medics supervised Noa, from Arnhem, after agreeing she could stop eating and drinking - but did not actively euthanise her, a Dutch minister and an end-of-life clinic said.

Noa had announced her intention to die a few days earlier in a post on her Instagram account.

The teenager had wanted to be euthanised at The Levenseindekliniek (End of Life Clinic) in The Hague, but they refused

'Let me get to the point. Within the next ten days I'm going to die,' she wrote.

'For a while now I've stopped eating and drinking and after many discussions... it is decided that I will be let go because my life is unbearable.'

She was sexually assaulted aged 11 and at 14 was raped by two men but was too afraid to tell her parents.

In Holland, children as young as 12 can be granted euthanasia if they desire, but only after a doctor concludes that the patient's suffering is unbearable with no clear end in sight.

In 2017, some 6,585 people chose euthanasia to end their own lives in the Netherlands, about 4.4 per cent of the total number of more than 150,000 registered deaths in the country, according to the Regional Euthanasia Review Committee which strictly monitors all cases.

This is while in 2018 there were 6,126 cases of euthanasia. One per cent involved psychiatric conditions, and 2.4 per cent dementia. Two-thirds were requested by people with terminal cancer.

The practice is hotly debated but illegal in the UK, but it's legal in some US states, Canada and Belgium.

Since 2002 doctors in the Netherlands have been able to carry out euthanasia if a patient is said to be enduring 'unbearable and endless suffering'.

They also have to have requested to die 'earnestly and with full conviction'.

The bill had previously been pushed through parliament by the health minister at the time, Els Borst.