Key Speeches of First Lady Betty Ford

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.