Seventy speakers had their say before Pittsburgh City Council for three and a half hours last week. When discussion ended, council gave preliminary approval to a measure that would create "bubble" zones around clients approaching health-care facilities. The legislation would further create no-protest buffer areas near their entrances.

While the legislation covers hospitals, dental offices and medical laboratories, the measure clearly focuses on abortion clinics, where protests have been regular and sometimes confrontational.

Supporters say the bubbles and buffers are necessary to reduce the chance for violence between overzealous protesters and the anxious families of clinic clients. The Supreme Court has ruled that women have broad rights to abortion, and certainly they should not feel threatened or harassed while pursuing their rights. Foes warn that the measure reduces the First Amendment rights of everyone to assemble, speak and picket in public places.

On balance, the Post-Gazette urges council members to give final approval to what is a carefully crafted, if cumbersome, measure when they meet on Tuesday. Mayor Tom Murphy should sign it.

When the ordinance was first proposed, we recommended a formal hearing to assure adequate time for consideration of the measure. The quality and length of the public debate on Wednesday was heartening, and we hope that the civility that characterized that session will last if the measure is implemented.

Should the ordinance pass, pickets and sidewalk counselors posted outside abortion clinics still would be able to do almost everything they do now to inform and dissuade clients as they approach clinics. They still could march, chant, pray, shout slogans and distribute literature as long as they stay at least 15 feet from a clinic entrance. As an aid to Pittsburgh police, who would be called upon to enforce any new regulations, that distance should be marked on the sidewalk as a guide for both sides.

Similarly, protesters could continue to approach people on their way to the clinic, offering arguments and information. Under the proposed rules, however, once someone is within 100 feet of the clinic, she could signal to an approaching protester that she is not interested in receiving information, which would create an eight-foot moving bubble of privacy around her. That means no unwanted physical contact, including passing of literature. While it's true that restriction wouldn't halt conversation, it is likely to make it more difficult. We hope the practical effect would not be to encourage protesters to ratchet up the volume of their comments to compensate for distance.

Both sides should keep in mind that what council is considering is an ordinance, and that any measure passed this month can and should be reviewed for effectiveness. While the U.S. Supreme Court has found similar laws in Massachusetts and Colorado to be constitutional, opponents already have warned they would challenge the Pittsburgh version.

Among the most visible protesters have been students and staff from the Franciscan University of Steubenville. It was reassuring to hear a speaker from that institution pledge that future actions would to be carried out "peacefully and prayerfully."

Let's hope the bubbles and buffers give Pittsburgh a chance to keep emotions under control and to ensure a woman's unfettered access to legal and safe abortion.