Netherlands’ Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that doctors can carry out euthanasia in patients with advanced dementia if the patient had earlier made a written statement.

The ruling solidifies in law a practice that already was being carried out on rare occasions in the country.

Dutch euthanasia advocacy groups welcomed the ruling, saying that the decision should help doctors “to feel strengthened and supported if they want to carry out euthanasia on a patient with dementia”.

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The case revolved around a district court’s acquittal last year of a doctor who in 2016 carried out euthanasia on a 74-year-old woman, who did not write a statement. “The court ruled that the doctor acted with due care and was therefore not punishable”, a judge said.

Under the Dutch law, people are eligible for euthanasia if they make a voluntary request for it and if their suffering is hopelessly “unbearable”. Before making the decision, doctors must consult at least one other independent physician.

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