All I can say is too bad George and Barbara Bush didn't practice abstinence or at least safe sex after marriage.
We would have spared that piece of crap GWB

sex (along with religion) should be a subject handled by the parents- not by public schools. since when do teachers decide whether to encourage children to have sex or to encourage them to be abstinent? good parenting removes the need for public schools to get involved

Not too surprising, I suppose. After all, one would think Hillary would be the first to become a staunch advocate of abstinence AFTER marriage…

Hilary's stock just went up as far as I'm concerned. It's been proven that abstinence programs just do not work.

Condoms help to prevent AIDS only if they are used properly. There in lays the catch, which also makes condoms statistically as ineffective as abstinence. Ignoring the best method we have to prevent AIDS is a ridiculous idea.

If anyone is an expert on abstinence, it is definitely Hillary!

After reading the vitriol in many comments above that stem from a lack of comprehension of what the article actually said, or a need to offend anyone with a different ideology, it's too bad many of the parents of these posters didn't abstain.

There are only two candidates who have the integrity to be trusted, one a Naval Acadamy Graduate and the other a Minister, The rest are lawyers who had thier integrity removed in their under graduate schools before they could go to Harvard or Yale Law Schools. I may be pro choice in the first trimester only and life of the mother only, but not one penny of Americanmy taxpayer money should be spent on abortion clinics caliming to fight aids overseas. If you want American money to pay for abortions donate it yourself.

Right, 'ole Hillary knows best that Dems can't be trusted (especially husbands), so abstinence should be removed from their vocab.

"Very telling is Hillary's reaction to the hostage situation that happened at her campaign headquarters in NH. She cancelled a speech but apparently didn't go to NH. In sum, she did nothing, simply remained paralyzed.

Posted By Michael, Houston, TX : November 30, 2007 7:10 pm"

Can your narrow mind think that there might be some procedures to follow in situations like that? Don't you know there is police and secret service who are consulted? Hillary is a candidate and is also a former First Lady. Just use your mind and ask yourself if her presence in NH wouldn't aggravate the situation. And drop that terrorist attack rhetoric, let Giuliani use it.

how about we take all that money and make good use of it. Spend it on our citizens who have HIV and Aids and need healthcare. Abstinence is a policy thats unrealistic and doesn't work. As usual the US government worries about the rest of the world and forgets about the most important thing. The welfare of its own citizens!!!

Very telling is Hillary's reaction to the hostage situation that happened at her campaign headquarters in NH. She cancelled a speech but apparently didn't go to NH. In sum, she did nothing, simply remained paralyzed.

This reaction to a "terrorist event" should be a warning of what to expect is she is elected. Is this the paralysis America can afford to endure if we are attacked again?

Well it would figure the former first lady would strike the "abstinence" line. I mean, she couldn't even control her husband while he was in the White House, why would she even attempt it with anyone else

Don't forget the other candidates like Joe Biden! We never hear about others, so it is no wonder the top three continue to get bigger numbers!

The US' sky rocketing STD rates prove that all sex education is a failure. According to Hillary's methods…, this means we should cut them too.

Common Sense says if you continue to put "male enhancement" ads, increase your "sex drive" ads, and shows like "Dirty Sexy Money" on TV that children who are exposed to them during prime time hours will probably get interested in sex a LOT sooner. Common Sense is gone in America!

Brad from Texas: trust me, you didn't offend me. The implications of your original statement were hilarious. I hope no one got the impression I agreed with this likely religious nut, when my beliefs could not be further from his.

To summarize: abstinence only training is both inappropriate and a waste, avoiding pre-marital sex is a bad idea (at least in the U.S.), the legality of abortion must be protected, the politically biased term "pro-life" should not be legitimized and should be replaced with the term "anti-choice," and the idea of God giving Mary AIDS is very, very funny.

Well, thanks to the current administration and their holier than thou AIDS strategies, we are growing the next crop of terrorists in Africa. How pissed off do you think these people will be when the come of age and realize that a condom might have saved Mom or Dad?

It's only sensible foreign policy that Hillary seems to be preaching. Republicans remind me of Nero, fiddling while Rome burned down around him.

However, it is probably TB that will be the worldwide epidemic, a secondary effect of inadequate AIDS treatment. Oh and in case you don't know, you can get TB from someone else coughing. Maybe the President should encourage a "Stop Coughing" policy. Makes about as much sense.

We should give poor starving people condoms instead of food so they won't make more poor starving people. In the end, it saves money, and these developing countries that we've helped for 50 years finally develop.

Thats Reality said:

"Some people understand the value of self-control, chastity, and infidelity."

Infidelity…what a hoot. Spoken like a true Republican! Democrats understand the value of self-control, chastity, and FIDELITY, but they also understand the value of common sense, something that escapes republicans.

Hillary doesn't believe in abstinence? You've got to be kidding me?

It amazes me that self control is an unachievable goal. That would explain our society today.

Again Hillary is last out with her plan that echos Obama and Edwards plans. She does not have an original thought. She waits to hear what others say then does her homework on what peopled liked then like magic…her plan appears.

Sex should be a personal decision not our government. Instead of having just sex before marriage programs why not a a course on using all the possibilities. Not taking ones persons idea because they might be jealous that they did everyone in their high school and some one else didn't and vice versa so they want every one to be like them. Let kids know that they MIGHT regret it and the possibilities of catching something even with condoms. It should all be taught in one class and with all the funding. One program one funding with every bodies point of views and facts.

I guess my original statement came out wrong… sorry if I offended anyone–my point was that abstinence never fails in preventing STD's or unwanted pregnancies (which would deem abortion irrelevant)– two birds with one stone!

Abstinence may be foolproof, but abstinence only training isn't. Compare the number of people who have heard the abstinence preachings of their religion with the number who actually abstain. That sure isn't 100% effective.

Statistically young people develop into healthy adults better when their comprehensive sex education program includes both abstinence and contraceptives…in the United States.

We are not talking primarily about the United States, however. We are not talking about young people primarily either. There is an estimated 15 million children under the age of 18 who have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS. The vast majority of these orphans come from Africa. We're talking about PARENTS. Abstinence only programs are meaningless to these people. Safe contraceptive usage is the way to keep these people alive. Drug prevention programs are the way to keep these people safe.

and I'm a die hard republican.

Clinton spoke about her global strategy to combat AIDS on Thursday in California.

This statement makes it sound like AIDS is only a problem in California on Thursday.

HIV and AIDS aside, abstaining from pre-marital sex is probably a pretty bad idea. Why would you possibly commit to a lifetime of sex with one person if you don't know you enjoy having sex with them? And furthermore, do you really want to have your first awkward, fumbling sexual experience at age 30? Sounds pretty humiliating and demoralizing to me.

On a lighter note, how about this comment:
"What kind of idiots does Edwards have working for him? "Scientifically-proven prevention strategies"–what a crock!! Everyone knows that contraceptives are not 100% effective. However, abstinence is foolproof, unless your name is Mary and you're from Bethlehem. Use some common sense, folks…"
-Brad from Texas

Are you implying that God gave the Virgin Mary AIDS? That one had me rolling on the floor. I can't wait for a South Park episode about that.

As a general response to those comments here that create a false dichotomy between abstinence and sex ed. Of COURSE kids in Africa should be told about contraceptives. But since when did it become "unrealistic" to expect people–formally educated or not–to be able to abstain from sexual intercourse until marriage?!

Do you notice the undercurrent of racism and arrogance here? It goes something like this: "Those poor African kids over there aren't educated like we are (as if our public education is anything to brag about) so we shouldn't even bother telling them to abstain since we know they won't understand and will just be sexually active as soon as puberty hits." Nonsense! EVERY single human being has inherent dignity and value, regardless of socioeconomic conditions and skin color.

Why is this country tolerating/funding ABSTINENCE ONLY PROGRAMS? Most religions teach it and al Qaeda demands it. Look at all the perverted Catholic priests we have created with ABSTINENCE ONLY approach to human sexuality. Good gosh, look around you here in America with all of its sexual repression and what various types of dysfunctional behavior we have created. Besides those obvious facts, ABSTINENCE ONLY simply DOES NOT WORK.

It is comforting to see that HILLARY, the next president of the USA understands that.

It will be wonderful for all of America and the world to see that we once again have a president with a brain.

Go Hillary, Go. You are the most experienced in the field, and I know you will win come November 08. Right wing republicans may want to tear you down, but we know what the truth is. Hillary you are the best. Go for the win, go all the way. This is your time, and this is our time. Stay strong and keep the faith.

What is this a football game to you? This type of attitude is what's dividing America.

Abstinence is the only way lower the rate of STD's. Some people understand the value of self-control, chastity, and infidelity. Those who don't and continue to practice such behavior, encourage others to do the same. I applaud those who support abstinence. We don't need to encourage careless living that often results in tragic circumstance such as STD's, divorce, and abortion. "Moral Living" should be a course for all people. We wouldn't be discussing this if more people would accept that simple truth.

When did handing out condoms become a family value? The destruction of the traditional family is upon us. Why is it a waste of time to teach restraint? Controlling the human "urge" used to be virtuous, now its viewed as silly. America is setting itself up for destruction… It doesn't matter who wins.

This is hilarious. People on this post calling the abstinence program (only part of the PEPFAR plan) idiotic and unrealistic??? What is idiotic about expecting responsibility from someone with a fatal, contagious virus?

It seams liberal America sinks deeper into irresponsibility. Hillary Clinton will only deepen this trench.

Why the false dichotomy of abstinence vs contraception? This isn't an either-or…it's in addition to.

Listen, Hillary isn't saying preach contraception instead of abstinence; it's just that abstinence-only isn't enough…we need to preach the obviousness of abstinence but also that contraception and protection helps protect the spread of disease (I mean, this goes for married folks too - you can't and shouldn't expect married folks to give up sex?!).

In response to an earlier poster, I would like to comment thatthe effectiveness abstinence-only programs has been extensively studied in several different protocols. If one googles the term, they can easily be found. A major recent study found an astonishing 89% failure rate amongst high school teenagers engaged in abstinence-only education, when compared to comprehensive sexual education that included contraceptive techniques. Additionally, teenagers given abstinence-only education had earlier age of onset for first intercourse, and higher pregnancy and disease rates, stemming from a sharp decline in the use of contraceptives.

The take home message? Abstinence-stressed comprehensive sexual education is the most effective method of safely teaching our children. Abstinence is a great ideal to aspire to, but preaching as the only sole method, while sounding very moral, is unrealistic. Millions of years of evolutionary biology, as well as the power of teenage hormones, are working against us here. Telling a teen that condoms don't work simply means that they won't use condoms when they have sex. Teaching contraception and disease prevention has been shown to be more effective in delaying the age of first intercourse and decreasing the rates of pregnancy and disease, and this is the route we should take.

Also, we should begin to re-iterate the important role of parenting on this subject. It should not fall solely to the public educational system to engage kids in "the talk". Parents need to be parents again, and that means talking about sex.

As always, throw values that we teach our children to the wind. Oh, but Hillary knows what's best for us, of course. It takes a village, remember. Yeah, a village of idiots.

Clinton, Obama, or Edwards? I don't care because I expect that any of them would listen to the medical community when making public health policy. The current crowd of ideologues is killing us (literally in this case).

Abstinence not working? Why should it?
In today's society of "if you don't get hurt or hurt someoneelse go do it",
there's no incentive to abstain, from anything. It's really kind of simple.
Don't have sex before marriage, you don't run the risk of getting an STD of any kind. Especially since condoms
aren't designed to prevent diesases, why trust your life to a piece of latex. Since condoms don't have a great track record of preventing pregnacy either, abstinence makes sense. Since no method of artifical birth control doesn't 100% work, abstinence does make alot of sense. But, since every politican in the country can't get past their party's
ideology and doe what is right, morally or legally, don't expect simple things like diesases to get cured anytime soon. Hillary, Rudy, Obama, Roomney, Edwards and all the others. They all say how much Washington needs to be changed. Great idea, but since no one in the field of candidates or Congress really want to change anything about D.C. this election, I'll be voting the same way I voted in 2004. I'll be writing in
Spongbob Squarepants. He's the only one who know's how to be honest about anything.

look at that picture. Ticker and its CNN is starting to get it!

Good move on Hillary's part.

Nowhere in the article does it mention abstinence only, it states that it is one third of the monies allocated.

So the other two thirds go for other methods of helping he cause.

"Global AIDS program — a requirement that one-third of disease prevention funds go to abstinence-before-marriage programs."

Funny how we have always haerd that he hasn't done this or that for aids, but it turns out that this administration has ALLOCATED MORE MONEY THAN ANY ADMINISTRATION EVER in regards to aids programs of ALL types.

Interesting.

Maybe the R candidate with most facial roadmiles will win the primary?

You can realy tell who the Republicans are in these comments. It is very apparent that The Republicans would like to control everyones sex life. Yep!
Go Hillary!!

JB in Boston, since you cant seem to grasp the concept let me spell it out for you:

People are going to have sex whether we continue to spend money on abstenance training or not. You may not like it, it may not fit in to your "values" equation but it is reality. No one is saying abstenance training is a bad thing, but to expect it to help with the spread of disease is just naive. Republicans seem to have this idea that they can legislate private behaviour. This does not work and at some point these "values" republicans need to start being more concerned with reality than their "Father Knows Best" fantasy. Saving lives, thats a VALUE!

Abstinence to prevent AIDS is not a bad thing. The problem is no one is going to stop having sex. The drive is to strong. You can try and teach, educate, brainwash or whatever you call it. People will start having sex sooner or later. All you can do is minimize the risks. And by the way, who ever told you that abstinence was a deep seeded American value? What a joke.

In reading some of these comments I can see the ignorance is still out there. The WASTED moneys made available for abstinence programs could be put to much better use. No one is arguing that abstinence is a bad thing, it's just unrealistic. And all you who wish there is less government don't seem to mind if it is a moral issue they stick their neck in. Most all of us agree that prevention is the best cure, but let's focus on providing information to our youth to keep them healthy, including abstinence.

Good for you Hillary! Seems Obama and Edwards are the "fuzzy" ones here.

Every single study ever done on the subject shows that abstinence-only education doesn't work. When you teach abstinence only, kids have sex anyway, but instead of wearing a condom they get pregnant or contract STDs. So this morality-based legislation leads directly to more sick kids and unwed parents. This is only common sense on the part of Democrats.

Abstinence would be the best plan IF there was any chance that people would follow through with it. They won't. They follow their urges. People are weak willed, and abstinence, unfortunately doesn't work. That's why you have to go to plan B and educate people about contraceptive use. Not only to help prevent AIDS, but also cut down on teen pregnancy.

Focusing on abstinence only is living in a fantasy world. Teaching about condoms is just being realistic about the results you are going to get from people.

I wish Canadians would practice abstinence and keep their beaks out of our politics and blogs.

Why on earth is she always the last candidate to announce her position? I thought she claimed to be the most experienced, and the best LEADER?

Leaders don't follow. Just another example of why she's slipping so bad in the early states. We need a President with vision and principles.

Clinton is saying that the US will no longer require other countries to use a fixed amount of money to teach abstinence. She would leave it up to the countries receiving funds to determine how best to use them. That doesn't forbid or abolish abstinence education; it just leaves the power of decision in the hands of the people spending the money instead of in the hands of the US central government. No one is waging war on "American values" by letting countries receiving our aid decide how to spend it — and that means they can spend it all on abstinence education if they want, or none of it. Don't those countries know better than the US government how to structure their fight against AIDS? Doesn't the political right wing value local decision-making and local control over government commands?

There are plenty studies showing abstinence only education doesn't work. There are also plenty of studies showing that comprehensive sex ed (abstinence+contraception) is more likely to delay first intercourse than is abstinence only. The only studies that show ANYTHING differently are blatently partisan studies commissioned by groups with an ideological axe to grind.

Also, abstinence is not a "deep seated american value". My grandfather served in WWII, my great grandmother was a farmer's wife, both Reagan conservatives and patriots. Neither remained abstinent until marriage, and neither did most of their friends, which is why they supported contraception.

And yet studies, teen abortion and sky high STD rates all show that teaching sex education in school has only made things worse…

What kind of idiots does Edwards have working for him? "Scientifically-proven prevention strategies"–what a crock!! Everyone knows that contraceptives are not 100% effective. However, abstinence is foolproof, unless your name is Mary and you're from Bethlehem. Use some common sense, folks…

She scares me. God save America from HC.

Abstinence is much like Prohibition – destined to fail as public policy. I agree that abstinence is an important lesson; my parents taught me to wait until marriage and that is exactly what I did. Why do Republicans insist government teach morality?? Teach your kids to have some integrity and character, rather than worrying about what adults do behind closed doors!

While I agree that abstinence is the most effective practice to prevent HIV/AIDS, I don't know if we understand how incredibly difficult it is to impose our cultural values to kids in Africa. Some of these kids have been involved in sex trafficking for a very long time, and it would be so hard to force them to stop. I think that the closer you get to the problem in Africa, the more realistic you become about this problem. I agree that abstinence should be encouraged, but it would be entirely unrealistic to expect that to be very effective anytime soon.

Why is this country tolerating Hillary Clinton? If abstinence were so unobtainable, why does every major religion in the world demand it?

Of course, when you believe in abortion, abstinence is just plain stupid, isn't it? Unfortunately for the moralless, every major religion in the world is against abortion too.

Why does England get Princess Diana who worked with the poor all her life, and we get Hillary Clinton?

Fortunately, though, it appears that even her husband likes Obama more than he likes Hillary. Maybe Hillary should teach her husband to abstain from photo shoots with other candidates!

Abstinence works, Hillary!

When we are talking about developing countries, you are always also talking about the sad reality of lack of education. To all those praising abstinence only, do you not realize that education level is not there? Yes, the educational program should teach abstinence, but not solely? Is it better to pretend to be "holier than though" and teach solely abstinence, then, allow AIDS to continue to an epidemic? Or, is it better to stop the epidemic? Understand their culture and you would find that abstinence only is not the best approach.

Finally a return to sanity. Politics and culture-war ideology have no place in public health programs. Hill gathers in a lot of common-sense voters on this one.

Good for you, Hillary! Perhaps if you win, Barack will have a place in your administration - and maybe Larry Flynt can be the Surgeon General or Secretary of HHS, or Department of Education.

Just posting this picture would cause abstinence.

What a buzz kill.

Nope can't teach that facet of the program, we need to just hand out condoms and everything will be better.

Why can't this also be part of the equation?

That's right Hillary, it teaches morals and gasp, values, which you or your husband know nothing about.

Today students, Hillary is playing to the leftist base of the party.

I kind of loath Hillary on a visceral level, but you people who think that teaching abstinence curbs the spread of STDs at all make my eyes want to pop out of my skull. Humans have sex. It's what we do, oftentimes to the detriment of our own physical well-being. Contraception teaches us that we can do what we are going to do anyway, more safely. Abstinence just tries to change human behavior. Which do you think is the bigger uphill battle???

AJ in VT, I encourage you to stop and think for a moment when you say that we "can't legislate morality." EVERY law legislates morality; from criminal law to contract law to environmental law, every single law on the books PREscribes certain conduct and PROscribes other conduct. If laws do not perform this function, what is their purpose?

I think the Democrats are funny…they support Hillary when she dodges questions…then when she rips off existing ideas from her competition and takes credit…..then introduces close to 800 billion in unfunded entitlement spending (and her supporters will yell "its better than wasting money on Bushs war in Iraq" - all while forgeting Hillary voted for it….and funded it…everytime) - what a fun group…do they just forget…or maybe theres a missing gene??

>>>>I'm sure I'll be labeled a simpleton for saying this, but it seems self-evident that abstinence is the BEST practice to prevent the spread of STDs in developing–and developed–countries.>>>

But do you REALLY believe that abstinence could be taught to very many in developing countries?? And do you really believe that abstinence can be taught to a couple of 30 year olds, for instance??

Hillary is right on track. She knows reality, not impossible dreams.
Go, Hillary!

Go Hillary, Go. You are the most experienced in the field, and I know you will win come November 08. Right wing republicans may want to tear you down, but we know what the truth is. Hillary you are the best. Go for the win, go all the way. This is your time, and this is our time. Stay strong and keep the faith.

This tactic definitely aligns with Dem policy, the more sick people you have, the more people available for HILLARY CARE! Libs love their contituents to be dependent on the government.

How can these candidates advocate "best practices but not ideology" by striking abstinence education? I'm sure I'll be labeled a simpleton for saying this, but it seems self-evident that abstinence is the BEST practice to prevent the spread of STDs in developing–and developed–countries.

I don't understand. When did abstinence become bad? I hope I can convince my children of this.

Is the argument that abstinence training doesn't work? I would like to see the success rates for abstinence training vs. contraception training. And, I do think that the argument that teaching about contraception increases pre marital sex, has legs. Why not try to teach the best case scenario, abstinence?

I don't get it!

Good for Hillary.
The abstinence only provisions of the Bush plan were idiotic and totally unrealistic to begin with. Typical of republicans to be more interested in legislating morality than to be truly concerned about disease control.

this is where the dems lose me. everytime dems come out waging war against american deep seated values they irritate me to my core

Its about time — Bush's AIDS "plan" has set Africa and Asia back decades, in dissuading condom usage and promoting "abstinence" in its place. That strategy doesn't even work in the U.S.!

This person has more plans then Carter has pills. She has an answer for everything and just how are we going to pay for them? I know the rich won't be the ones paying. We will be paying a higher income tax and we also HAVE to buy health insurance under all her plans. Will someone be for real and tell the American people what they really are going to do and how they plan on paying for it. Lets stop all these good feeling pills and be for real for a change. I really think we need a third party in the US. These other two are just plain idiots.

abstinence makes the heart grow fonder *eyeroll*

I believe we're a little past trying to create abstinence, aren't we?

That picture doesn't make me change my mind on Obama. I am still voting for him. CNN has already elected Hillary!

It's called intelligent pragmatism.

Thank you, Hillary.

Cool - I can't wait to hear our in-house right-wing peanut gallery spin this empirically supported, reality-based policymaking into some nefarious Clintonite evil scheme to undermine society and turn everyone into deviants, or socialists, or illegal immigrants, etc - whatever the wingnut hated demographic du jour happens to be.

Seriously though, it's amazing how much righties wail and rage about every dollar spent on social programs, and yet seem to have no problem seeing tax money flushed down the drain on abstinence-only programs that have been shown again and again NOT to be at all effective in reducing risky sexual behavior in at-risk populations.

It's about time we saw a reality-based approach to dealing with the real problems of the world, as opposed to the Sonny Purdue approach the right favors.

Hillary is being a leader here as she is on many (not all) things. I trust HER "judgement" because I can actually see her record. I do not have to "hope" and "dream" about what she might do, like Sen Obama.

How can anybody trust anything he says? Not to say he is a liar, but nobody can honestly say co-sponsoring an ethics bill demonstrates you can get something done in Washington. Look at Bush's domestic agenda; he could not get social security reform WITH a repub congress and senate. Why in the world would you trust Obama, who has never done anything executively before, would have ANY success? I am sick of his campaign jargon; where's the beef?

Hillary can get it done.

How about spending $15 Billion for OUR people? Remember us? The voters?

I'M AFRAID IF HILLARY BECOMES PRESIDENT,IT WILL BE THE SAME OLD WASHINGTON POLITIC.WE NEED, A COMPLETE CHANGE IN WASHINGTON! JOHN EDWARDES,WILL MAKE THE CHANGES NECESSARY. I DON'T SEE IT IN ANY OTHER CANDIDATES!