The Senate has adopted a bill that increases penalties for assaults against medical and auxiliary staff. The initiative was voted with 110 votes 'in favor'.

On Tuesday, the Senate adopted a bill that amends Article 652 of Law no. 95/2006, increasing penalties for violence committed against medical and auxiliary staff in healthcare units. The bill was voted with 110 votes in favor and introduces harsher sanctions for threats, assaults, and bodily harm. Threats against medical staff will be punished with imprisonment from 6 months to 2 years, while assaults will carry penalties from 1 to 5 years, compared to 6 months to 3 years in the previous version of the law.

Bodily harm will be punished with imprisonment from 2 to 7 years, and assaults causing death with penalties between 5 and 15 years. The bill extends legal protection to all medical and non-medical staff, emphasizing that assaults against them will be punished more severely, similar to those against police officers and soldiers. The Senate is the first chamber seized, and the Chamber of Deputies will have the final word in this legislative initiative.