Key Speeches of First Lady Betty Ford

Women’s Center for Long Life Learning

Utah State University
June 8, 1974

President Taggart, Dean Lundstrom, Volunteers who have made this Center possible, Ladies and Gentlemen:

Thank you for your kind introduction and warm welcome to Utah State University. It is a privilege to be with you today, and to help officially open the Women's Center for Long Life Learning. This is truly an important occasion because this center proposes to attack one of our country's biggest problems directly.

Nine out of ten of today's young women will work sometime during their lives; most of them will work at least 25 years outside their home. Today's 30 million female workers make up 43% of the work force, and a third of them are the sole wage earners in their household. This is a real revolution.

While Federal laws prohibit discrimination, women are still at a disadvantage in pursuing meaningful careers. Business firms or educational institutions hesitate to train or promote a gifted young woman who may move away with her husband or leave the work force to raise a family. Women are inadequately represented today in the professions; instead, 75% of them are in routine jobs, as clerical, factory or domestic workers. As a result full time women workers earn only 60% of what men earn. Even in a field where they should be almost equal - college and university teaching - women are paid 17% less than their male colleagues.

This is a problem for our whole society; not just for the individual woman. She should not be required to choose either marriage and motherhood or a professional career. And if she decides to retire from her job for 10 or 15 years to raise her children she should not be expected to start over again at the bottom. The opening today of the Women's Center for Long Life Learning is a continuation of your state's tradition of equality for women. Over a hundred years ago, in 1870, Utah became the first territory in which women could vote (although the law was later set aside by the Congress). Women have had a voice in Mormon Church affairs since its founding in 1830. I am certain the Women's Center will make a real and permanent contribution as it helps women prepare for meaningful careers, richer lives, and greater equality.

Thank you again for inviting me here today.

“60 Minutes” Interview with Morley Safer

August 10, 1974

MRS. FORD: I told my husband if we have to go to the White House, "Okay, I will go. But I'm going as myself. And it's too late to change my pattern. And if they don't like it, then they'll just have to throw me out."

SAFER: Washington can be an awfully tough town on a political wife. Would you agree?

MRS. FORD: Well, I agree. But you see, I had twenty-six years of experience as the wife of a Congressman. And I did learn a little bit in that twenty-six years. You know, I wasn't sitting around being a dummy.

SAFER: One ex-wife, the ex-wife of a Congressman said, "He'll do anything for his country, his party and his family in that order."

MRS. FORD: Well, I think a Congressional wife has to be a special kind of woman. I don't think that all women, really, can adjust to this type of life.

SAFER: But would you advise your daughter, for example, to marry a politician given the years you’ve been through it in Washington?

MRS. FORD: That's a hard question.

SAFER: Would you advise against marrying a politician, put it that way?

MRS. FORD: No, I would not advise her against marrying a politician. I wouldn't pick one out for her though.

SAFER: What are the pressures on a woman living in this town?

MRS. FORD: The pressures are many. And it depends on the family, or the size of the family. The type of husband that you have. Whether he's a wanderer or whether he's a homebody. I think that there are sane women that probably have their husbands around the house more than they'd like. And then there are those that wish their husbands were home more.

SAFER: Did you ever have any doubts about your husband and some of the attractions in this city?

MRS. FORD: I have perfect faith in my husband. But I'm always glad to see him enjoy a pretty girl. And when he stops looking, then I'm going to begin to worry. But right now, he still enjoys a pretty girl. And he really doesn't have time for outside entertainment. Because I keep him busy.

SAFER: There was a time in your life here where you felt that you needed some help.

MRS. FORD: This is true.

SAFER: Some psychiatric help.

MRS. FORD: Yes.

SAFER: Was that, do you think, a function of being in Washington or what? Why did you feel you had to go and see a psychiatrist?

MRS. FORD: Well, I was advised by the doctor who was treating me for my neck and shoulder and back, that perhaps, psychiatric help could help me in getting over this problem. And on his advice I went to a psychiatrist. And I found it very helpful, because apparently I was -- I was really giving too much of myself and not taking any time out for Betty. It was all going to the children and my husband. And consequently, I was a little beaten down. And he built up my ego.

SAFER: The psychiatrist did.

MRS. FORD: Yes, he did.

SAFER: You said you're going to start lobbying for a salary, what part of the job is the toughest? Is it simply this sort of thing, the 'paste-on-smile' as you described it yourself once?

MRS. FORD: I think the publicity and constantly being before the public and never really feeling that you can go out and take a swim in the pool because you're going to get your hair messed up. And you have to come back and face somebody for tea or some sort of program. So it's confining.

SAFER: It's almost a rule of political life, though, that the higher a man gets in politics, the less outspoken his wife becomes. She becomes a mouse. It seems that it's been just the opposite with Betty Ford. The higher your husband's gotten, the more, really controversial things have been said.

MRS. FORD: I know. But my -- what I've spoken out on were issues pertaining to women. I’m not getting into the political issues that ---

SAFER: Well, the Equal Rights Amendment was a very hot political issue.

MRS. FORD: It still is. And we're going to get it. I'm perfectly willing to tackle a political issue as long as it doesn't disturb my husband and he didn't step on my toes. I feel that the Equal Rights Amendment ought to probably pass in our Bicentennial year, 200 years. What could be greater than to pass that?

SAFER: Do you find the more strident voices of so-called "liberated women" the advocates, a little bit hard to take?

MRS. FORD: I must admit that, yes. I'm not the type that's going to burn my bra or do something like that. I really don't feel that strong about it. I feel that the liberated woman is the woman who is happy doing what she's doing, whether it's a job or as a housewife, it doesn't make a bit of difference. Just so she, inwardly, feels that she is happy and that she is liberated.

SAFER: But without meaning to be rude for a minute, surely, the most unliberated woman in this - in the world is the wife of the President of the United States…. in terms of the bonds that tie her, forgive me, to his shadow.

MRS. FORD: I don't feel unliberated when I'm sitting here talking to you. You can ask me any question. I’m perfectly happy to answer and give you my idea. And I'm sure my husband won't mind at all. 

SAFER: Okay. Do you ever say to him, “You really weren't very good today?”

MRS. FORD: Yes, I do. (LAUGHS) I'm probably his world's either worst or best critic. I watch everything. And I check everything. And quite often, I check if he's going to be on television, I check his shirt, his tie, his suit. The whole works.

SAFER: What are the things about him, the things he does, the habits he has, that you like least?

MRS. FORD: Well, after twenty-six years, I guess we've learned to live together and accept each other's habits. I've learned to correct mine, I think, that were, perhaps, aggravating to him. And I think he's -- I really think that he's tried to correct his. I believe a marriage, you see,

should be a seventy-thirty proposition. You don't go into marriage as a fifty-fifty thing. You go into it, both of you, as a seventy-thirty proposition. In other words, I'm giving seventy, he can give thirty. He's giving seventy, I give the opposite. And when you’re going overboard like that, trying to please each other, you can't help but be happy.

SAFER: As doubtlessly happy a marriage as the Ford marriage has been all these years, what are the issues that we really –

MRS. FORD: We've had our fights.

SAFER: Over what?

MRS. FORD: Oh, very minor details, probably because I was late.

SAFER: You've got a reputation for that?

MRS. FORD: No more, no more. It's all gone. I beat him every place.

SAFER: But what? Did you ever fight over money?

MRS. FORD: No. Never had any money to fight over.

SAFER: But did you -- did you ever have words with him, strong words, over political stands?

MRS. FORD: No, I would not say strong words. I would say that we've had disagreements over political stands.

SAFER: I think that everyone would be fascinated to know what is the issue that you sat Jerry Ford down and said, "Listen, I want you to listen…?”

MRS. FORD: Well, a lot of it had to do with, perhaps, putting a woman in the Cabinet.

SAFER: You won that one.

MRS. FORD: Yes, I won that one. And I'm working on another. If I can get a woman on the Supreme Court Bench, then I think that I'll really be – have accomplished a great deal.

SAFER: Getting back to my original question which was the more power a politician gets, the more of a mouse his wife becomes. And among the things you have spoken out about are abortion, which is kind of a taboo subject for the wife of the President. It's one of the —

MRS. FORD: (INDISTINCT) -- Ask a question you have to be honest, exactly how you feel. And I feel very strongly that it was the best thing in the world when the Supreme Court voted to legalize abortion, and in my words, bring it out of the backwoods and put it in the hospitals where it belonged. I thought it was a great, great decision.

SAFER: You've also talked about the young people living together before they're married.

MRS. FORD: Well, they are, aren't they?

SAFER: Indeed, they are. Well, what if Susan Ford came to you and said, "Mother, I'm having an affair.”

MRS. FORD: Well, I wouldn't be surprised. I think she's a perfectly normal human being like all young girls, if she wanted to continue and I would certainly counsel and advise her on the subject, and I'd want to know pretty much about the young man that she was planning to have the affair with; whether it was a worthwhile encounter or whether it was going to be one of those — She’s pretty young to start affairs.

SAFER: But, nevertheless, old enough —-

MRS. FORD: Oh, yes, she's a big girl.

SAFER: I mean would it surprise you, though, given the way the -- the way you brought these kids up, and the President brought them up, would it surprise you if that happened?

MRS. FORD: No, I think there's a complete freedom among the young people now. And in some cases, I'm not so sure that, perhaps, there would be less divorce.

SAFER: Have you worried about your children, about your children -- I don't know, going wrong, about drugs?

MRS. FORD: No, I really haven't, because we 've always discussed it and I would have detected it. And immediately, I would have done something about it. We brought them up with a certain moral value that where their friends might be taking drugs now, I'm not saying that they haven't tried it, because I'm sure they've all probably tried marijuana. The last time I said that I got the devil from one of them because he said, "How do you know I've tried marijuana? I've never touched it before.” And I said, “I don't know. I just supposed that you probably had.” But it's not habit, it's nothing that we've had to have…..

SAFER: Do you think that Betty Bloomer would have been the kind of girl who would have at least experimented with marijuana when you were growing up?

MRS. FORD: Oh, I'm sure I probably would when I was growing up at that age, I probably would have been interested to see what the effect … I never would have gone into it as a habit or anything like that. It's the type of thing that the young people have to experience, like your first beer or your first cigarette, something like that.

SAFER: You know, you've spoken out on a number of things, the fact that you've sought psychiatric help. You’ve spoken on drugs, on abortion, all kinds of things that used to be considered taboo, I guess really were taboo for ---

MRS. FORD: But also didn't -- the fact that I had the cancer operation and the publicity of that saved a lot of people's lives.

SAFER: Indeed, was that a conscious thing when you decided to ---

MRS. FORD: Definitely. I felt that if I had it, many other women have it, because I had no idea of it whatsoever and it came about as a complete surprise. One day, like that, and the next day I was in the hospital. And I thought that there are women all over the country like me. And if I don't make this public, then their lives will be gone, they're in jeopardy. And I think it did a great deal for women as far as the cancer problem is concerned. It isn't difficult if you face up to it. And you can find a power that's strong enough, that will carry you through those things. And this is the power that I have found, has carried me through a lot of things.

SAFER: Power being what? A religious feeling?

MRS. FORD: Yes, it's a religious feeling, a belief in God. And knowing that there is God and depending on Him.

SAFER: Do you pray? Does the President pray?

MRS. FORD: Definitely, both of us. The President has his special prayers that he says at night, I know, before he goes to sleep. And I have mine.

SAFER: Then we turned to a subject we've all been concerned about … Betty Ford's health. And I think that a lot of people would like to hear it from you, how are you?

MRS. FORD: Really and truly, I never have felt better. I feel absolutely marvelous. My weight is down and I like to be lean and trim. The doctors reports have all been absolutely clear. There’s not been one iota of question in all of the tests that they have run on me every three months .

There hasn't been any sign, whatsoever, of a cancerous recurrence at this point. Now, this doesn't mean that I'm going on forever. Because some people go three years, some people go four years, but I feel great. And I'm convinced in my own mind, that I'm completely cured.

SAFER: And how about your back, that pinched nerve that you did have to take some ---

MRS. FORD: Well , that still does give me trouble, but I've had that ten or eleven years and I don't expect, you know, everybody can't be perfect. You all have to suffer a little to appreciate life.

First Lady Betty Ford's Remarks to the International Women's Year Conference

Cleveland, Ohio
October 25, 1975

Thank you for inviting me. I am here because I believe the best way to celebrate International Women's Year is to examine the very real problems women face today, not the progress of yesterday.

While many new opportunities are open to women, too many are available only to the lucky few.

Many barriers continue to the paths of most women, even on the most basic issue of equal pay for equal work. And the contributions of women as wives and mothers continue to be underrated.

This year is not the time to cheer the visible few, but to work for the invisible many, whose lives are still restricted by custom and code.

In working sessions of this conference, you will explore many of the formal and informal restrictions that confine women.

Many of these restrictions spring directly from those emotional ideas about what women can do and should do. These definitions of behavior and ability inhibit men and women alike, but the limits on women have been formalized into law and structured into social custom.

For that reason, the first important steps have been to undo the laws that hem women in and lock them out of the mainstream of opportunities.

But my own support of the Equal Rights Amendment has shown what happens when a definition of proper behavior collides with the right of an individual to personal opinions. I do not believe that' being First Lady should prevent me from expressing my views.

I spoke out on this important issue, because of my deep personal convictions. Why should my husband's job or yours prevent us from being ourselves? Being ladylike does not require silence.

The Equal Rights Amendment when ratified will not be an instant solution to women's problems. It will not alter the fabric of the Constitution or force women away from their families.

It will help knock down those restrictions that have locked women in to old stereotypes of behavior and opportunity. It will help open up more options for women.

But it is only a beginning.

The debate over ERA has become too emotional, because of the fears of some -- both men and women -- about the changes already taking place in America.

And part of the job of those of us who support ERA is to help remove this cloud of fear and confusion.

Change by its very nature is threatening, but it is also often productive. And the fight of women to become more productive, accepted human beings is important to all people of either sex and whatever nationality.

I hope 1976 will be the year the remaining four states ratify the 27th amendment. It will be an important symbolic event during our 200th birthday to show that the great American experiment in human freedom continues to expand.

But changing laws, more job opportunities less financial discrimination and more possibilities for the use of our minds and bodies will only partially change the place of American women.

By themselves they will never be enough, because we must value our own talents before we can expect acceptance from others. The heart of the battle is within.

I have been distressed that one unfortunate outgrowth of the debate has been a lack of appreciation of the role of women as wives and mothers.

In trying to open up new choices and opportunities, women must not underestimate their accomplishments in the home.

Fortunately, I have had the best of two worlds -- that of a career woman earning my own living, and that of a homemaker and mother raising four individual and delightful youngsters. I am equally proud of both periods in my life.

We have to take that "'just" out of "just a housewife" and show our pride in having made the home and family our life's work.

Downgrading this work has been part of the pattern in our society that has undervalued women's talents in all areas.

We have come a long way, but we have a long way to go -- part of that distance is within our own mind.

ERA will help open some doors. Changing our own attitudes as women will open even more. But legal help and self-help will not be enough.

The long road to equality rests on achievements of women and men in altering how women are treated in every area of everyday life.

That is why this conference is so important, because you are looking at the patterns of discrimination which must be ended before women are truly free.

Freedom for women to be what they want to be will help complete the circle of freedom America has been striving for during 200 years. As the barriers against freedom for Americans because of race or religion have fallen the freedom of all has expanded. The search for human freedom can never be complete without freedom for women.

By the end of this century, I hope this nation will be a place where men and women can freely choose their life's work without restrictions or without ridicule.

On the eve of the nation’s third century, let us work to end the laws and remove the labels that limit the imagination and the options of men and women alike.

Success will open hearts and minds to new possibilities for all people. Much has been done, much remains, but we must keep moving on.

Note: This text is from the reading copy of Mrs. Ford’s speech in box 3 of the files of her speechwriter, Frances Kaye Pullen.

First Lady Betty Ford's Remarks to the American Cancer Society

New York City
Friday, November 7, 1975

I'm very glad to be here tonight, and that is not a line borrowed from someone.

I feel absolutely marvelous. I just had my annual checkup and all my tests are completely clear. There is no sign whatsoever of a cancerous reoccurrence at this point. I am convinced that I am completely cured.

Thanks to that checkup last September, good doctors, a loving supporting husband and understanding children -- I can truly say this past year has been one of the richest years of my life.

When I went into the operating room, that morning I had a pretty good premonition it was going to turn out to be a malignancy and that my breast would have to be removed. But once the operation was over, I was really very much relieved. I felt the doctors had removed the cancer at such an early stage that I was very lucky and would have no more problems.

The most difficult moments, matter of fact, were trying to pull my family through my cancer operation. I really had to pull them through, and to try to make them happy because they were so sad and upset.

The malignancy was something my husband never expected, and he couldn't believe it was happening to me. The whole family were so depressed.

I think their surprise was a very natural reaction, because one day I appeared to be fine and the next day, the very next day, I was in the hospital for a mastectomy. This made me realize how many women in the country could be in exactly the same situation.

That realization made me decide to discuss my breast cancer operation openly, because I thought of all the many lives in jeopardy. My experience and frank discussion of breast cancer did prompt many women to learn about self-examination, regular checkups, and such detection techniques as mammography. These are so important. I just cannot stress enough how necessary it is for women to take an active interest in their own health and their own body.

Too many women are so afraid of breast cancer that they endanger their lives. These fears of being "less" of a woman are very real, and it is important to talk about the emotional side effects honestly. They must come out into the open.

It was easier for me to accept the operation, because I had been married for 26 years and we had four children. There was no problem of lack of love, affection, and attention.

But some women don't have these same emotional resources, and it is very necessary to deal realistically with the fears about breast cancer.

It isn't vanity to worry about disfigurement. It is an honest concern. I started wearing low-cut dresses as soon as the scar healed, and my worries about my appearance are now just the normal ones of staying slim and keeping my hair kempt and the make-up in order. When I asked myself whether I would rather lose a right arm or a breast, I decided I would rather have lost a breast.

The most important thing in life is good health! And that I have!

That is the medical side. Cancer also produces fear -- and much of that fear comes from ignorance about the progress already made and ignorance of the need for preventive medicine for men and women alike.

Cancer wherever it strikes the body, also strikes the spirit, and the best doctors in the world cannot cure the spirit. Only love and understanding can accomplish this important role.

All of us can give love and support to our friends who have cancer. We can open our hearts and our minds to dealing with the fears that the victims have, and also the fears many of us have of the disease itself.

I believe we are all here to help each other and that our individual lives have patterns and purposes. My illness turned out to have a very special purpose -- helping save other lives, and I am grateful for what I was able to do.

Note: This text is from the reading copy of Mrs. Ford’s speech in box 3 of the files of her speechwriter, Frances Kaye Pullen.