Opinion> Hillary Clinton> Talking It Over 1997 03 04

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Talking It Over

I first met Elizabeth Glaser in the summer of 1992. She spoke to thousands of delegates at the Democratic National Convention and millions of Americans watching at home on TV. Her forceful words about the urgency of the AIDS crisis moved everyone to silence or quiet tears. Like everyone who heard her speak, I was touched by her passion, her courage and her hope.

A blood transfusion during the birth of Elizabeth's daughter Ariel in 1981 infected her with the AIDS virus. Unknowingly, Elizabeth passed the virus to Ariel through her breast milk and later to her son Jake in the womb. Her worst fears came true when she and her husband, Paul, watched helplessly as their daughter succumbed to AIDS at age 7.

Most people would have been paralyzed by so many tragedies. But Elizabeth turned her personal battle into a fight for the life and dignity of every child and every person with AIDS. She refused to be defeated by the prejudice, fear and isolation that greet so many in her situation but instead worked tirelessly for greater understanding and awareness. With two friends, she began the Pediatric AIDS Foundation to support and encourage research into the prevention and treatment of childhood AIDS. And as a mother hoping to save the life of her son and the lives of other mothers' children, she lobbied congressmen, presidents and presidential candidates, urging them to work harder to find a cure for AIDS.

Since Elizabeth's death in December 1994, I've thought of her often. I've thought of the brave woman with the big smile whom I had the privilege of getting to know not just as an activist but as a fellow mother and friend who was exactly my age. I will always treasure the time we spent together at her home, sipping Diet Coke and talking about our children, our lives and our concerns.

After hearing the good news last week about our progress against AIDS, Elizabeth has been on my mind more than ever. On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control announced that for the first time since the AIDS epidemic began in 1981, the number of AIDS deaths in the United States dropped substantially.

Late last year, the CDC also announced that the number of reported cases of mothers transmitting HIV to their babies fell by 27 percent between 1992 and 1995.

There are many reasons for these successes, among them innovative drug therapies and aggressive treatments. Over the last four years, funding for AIDS research, prevention and care has increased by more than half. Funding for health care and other assistance to HIV/AIDS patients has more than doubled, and programs that help low-income, uninsured people with AIDS pay for treatments have grown threefold.

I know that Elizabeth would be encouraged by these efforts. But she would also be reminding us that there is still much more to do. We mustn't let up on our efforts to find a cure and a vaccine. Until we do, we need to get more lifesaving prevention information to women, African Americans, young people and heterosexuals, groups that are still experiencing high rates of infection. And we need to strengthen our prevention and treatment efforts here and around the world, especially in developing nations, where 90 percent of AIDS cases occur.

But most immediately, we need to make sure that the life-prolonging drug therapies that have already helped so many adults here in America are made more widely available to children and others around the world who are living with HIV/AIDS. Too many of these drug treatments still have not been tested on children or made into a form that children can readily take. And they still have not been distributed worldwide. The cost of these therapies has often made it prohibitive to many families both here and in developing nations, where average citizens can barely afford the price of an aspirin.

The Pediatric AIDS Foundation is Elizabeth Glaser's living legacy. It is a testament to her will and her indomitable spirit. Her spirit lives on in the breakthroughs of the scientists who have conducted and will conduct research in her name. Most importantly, it lives on in every child with HIV/AIDS who is enjoying a happy and healthy childhood today because of her remarkable courage, faith and love.