WGVU Presents
First Lady Betty Ford: Part 3 - What Did Betty Ford do for Women's Rights?
Special | 2m 50sVideo has Closed Captions
Learn about Betty Ford's passion for rallying support for the Equal Rights Amendment.
Betty Ford goes down in history as one of the most influential first ladies for how confidently she used her voice. Learn about Betty Ford's passion for rallying support for the Equal Rights Amendment.
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WGVU Presents is a local public television program presented by WGVU
WGVU Presents
First Lady Betty Ford: Part 3 - What Did Betty Ford do for Women's Rights?
Special | 2m 50sVideo has Closed Captions
Betty Ford goes down in history as one of the most influential first ladies for how confidently she used her voice. Learn about Betty Ford's passion for rallying support for the Equal Rights Amendment.
Problems with Closed Captions? Closed Captioning Feedback
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>> In Betty's mind when it did not have to choose between embracing traditional aspects of being a mother and a wife and embracing new norms.
The provided increased freedom voice in choice for women.
In fact, one of the issues, but he was especially vocal about was rallying support for the Equal Rights Amendment to be added to the Constitution.
For context, the Equal Rights Amendment or ER for short was not a new concept.
In the 1970's, it was actually something champions by women's suffrage, activist Alice Paul in 1923, if added to the Constitution, it would officially prohibit discrimination based on a person's sex and all parts of the United States.
And it would formalize women's equality to men under the law.
In 1972, the necessary two-thirds of Congress members finally approved of the proposed amendment.
The next step was getting the necessary 3 fourths of the states to ratify the amendment so that it could be added to the Constitution.
And the states were given a seven-year window to get this done.
But he was determined to do her part to persuade others to ratify the ER, whether that meant speaking openly about her support for in televised interviews, making calls to state legislatures.
We're making it the focus of her acceptance speech when she was awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree from the University of Michigan.
It was even able to put her support for an increased role for women into action by encouraging Gerald Ford to appoint more women to the administration than any previous president before him.
And but it was not something that was properly understood.
It was often seen as an issue.
A person had control over rather than something like cancer that is out of a person's control, that he had the incredible courage to use her experience, to help others learn more.
And as a result, another entire sector of the nation from their deeply personal health struggle, less stigmatized.
>> When mother chose to do the Betty Ford Center, she had been 4 years sober, which is pretty early in your sobriety.
We were all very impressed.
She came to us is as family and talk to us about.
Were we okay with that?
We were the ones that we're gonna have to live with it.
She was going to be around forever.
I couldn't be more proud because she made such a huge statement back in 1978, not many people had come out and spoken about their sobriety back then and then to turn around and start the Betty Ford Center.
She was one of them and people would come up to her over the years.
And they would say how I got sober because of you and I found this because of you.
And she said that you're the one who did the work.
I can't do the work for you.
And it is work.
People with substance use disorder.
Our teachers who plumbers, veterinarians and airline pilots, they're America.
They're not for former first lady's.
And is she really?
It was very humble about it.
And because she was one of them, she could work with them and help them choose to lecture to the patients at the Betty Ford Center once a month and share her story.
So they really felt connected to her.
And that's a big part of that work is being connected.
>> That he not only recovered from her addiction but committed her leadership in fundraising efforts to supporting high-quality gender specific substance abuse recovery at a treatment center that she founded.
This treatment center became known as the Betty Ford Center of Rancho Mirage, California, that he served as the chair of the board of directors for the Betty Ford Center from its founding in 1980, to 2005, a rule.
She then passed down to her daughter, Susan Fields.
>> I was chair for 5 years and then I went on to help orchestrate the merger with Hazleton, Betty Ford and 2014, which is that the best thing that we could have ever have happened.
I now chair the quality committee, which is a equality for not only patients but for our staff and that I'm also on the executive committee of Hazleton, Betty Ford Foundation.
So the whole point of her trust is to preserve and to continue her legacy and protect it.
>> This rehabilitation center serves as a beacon of light a place in Betty's words where you can go that you can feel safe and look inside yourself.
Discover your son.
>> Watching her go through her treatment was like watching a rose coal from the bug to a beautiful open flower.
She learned so much.
We all are affected by this disease.
Both family members are affected by the b***** cancer and the substance use disorder.
And one in 4 people are affected by substance use disorder as a family member by a co-worker, you know, whatever.
So the fact that she did that and made it conversation for America to have and for people not to hide mean, I remember when we were looking for treatment and looking for places for her to go and what to do.
I had never heard of a before.
I'd never heard of our night before.
So my eyes as a family member were also opened up into a whole new group of people that are welcoming and loving and can truly change
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WGVU Presents is a local public television program presented by WGVU