BUFFALO – Senator Clinton fainted during a lunch appearance here yesterday, but a short time later she delivered a planned speech on health care to a college audience.

Mrs. Clinton was not taken to a hospital and insisted, against a doctor’s advice, on continuing with her schedule, said former U.S. Rep. John LaFalce, who organized Mrs. Clinton’s appearance at his alma mater, Canisius College.

“It wasn’t as dramatic as it sounds,” Mrs. Clinton told the audience, explaining she had developed a 24-hour virus.

Earlier, Mrs. Clinton, who is 57, was speaking about Social Security to 150 people at a political fund-raiser when she fell ill.

“About five minutes into the speech, she said she was queasy,” said Erie County Democratic Chairman Len Lenihan, who was at the Women’s TAP fund-raiser at the private Saturn Club.

During the speech, Mrs. Clinton left the podium and continued her talk sitting in a chair but eventually left the room, saying she needed a break, Mr. Lenihan said. She returned to the podium a short time later but fainted before resuming her speech.

“It became clear she was faint. She was sort of brought down gracefully,” he said.

The room was cleared and Mrs. Clinton immediately received medical attention from, among others, a doctor who attended the event.

“She fainted after not feeling well, got medical attention, and is proceeding with her planned schedule,” according to a statement released by her office in Washington.

The general manager of the club said Mrs. Clinton walked out of the building on her own.

“I saw her walk out the door by herself, she smiled and said ‘thank you’,” said the manager, Vincent Tracy.

Mrs. Clinton’s later appearance at Canisius, a small Catholic college, drew protests from anti-abortion groups and reluctance from the Catholic diocese because of her abortion-rights stance.

“We can listen to what she has to say outside a venue that is not Catholic,” said Liz Zilbauer, 25, who was among several dozen protesters who held signs outside the college.

Other protesters shouted to people lined up to hear the address. “Shame on you,” one woman yelled.

Mr. LaFalce said he was surprised at the backlash. Despite fainting, he said, Mrs. Clinton “insisted on coming here to give this talk because she felt so committed to [health care],” he said.

After Mrs. Clinton fainted there were discussions about having her deliver a shorter speech and skip the questions, Mr. LaFalce said, but in the end, Mrs. Clinton made the call to go through with the program as planned.

“I was under the impression [a doctor] told her to take it easy the rest of the day,” Mr. LaFalce said.

During the health-care address, Mrs. Clinton made no reference to fainting but referred to it during the question-and-answer session.

“What better place to come and talk about healing the sick,” she said to laughter. Mrs. Clinton was to return to Washington after the Canisius event, the last on her public schedule.

During an earlier editorial board meeting yesterday at the Buffalo News, Mrs. Clinton complained about suffering from a flu-like bug that affected several of her staff members during a weekend retreat in Westchester. Mrs. Clinton lives in Westchester County.

The former first lady was elected to the Senate from New York in 2000 to replace Democrat Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who retired. She easily beat then-U.S. Rep. Rick Lazio after the Republican Party’s original candidate, Mayor Giuliani, withdrew from the race after announcing he had prostate cancer.