Chicago lawmakers adopt anti-abortion buffer zone

Other cities have enacted measures similar to the one passed Wednesday in Chicago. The laws were prompted by the fatal shootings at Boston-area clinics 15 years ago.

Planned Parenthood of Illinois praised the vote and said there's been a recent increase in protests at their clinics.

Abortion foes protested the Chicago vote, but courts have generally ruled in favor of the laws. In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court let stand a lower court ruling upholding a Massachusetts buffer zone.

The Chicago ordinance prohibits protesters from approaching within eight feet of a patient who is within 50 feet of a health care facility. Violators would be subject to fines of up to $500.