Betty Ford Dies at 93

The controversial former first lady said she "always had a more liberal view."

Former first lady Betty Ford, activist and founder of the Betty Ford Clinic, died on Friday at the age of 93. The wife of the late Gerald R. Ford and self-proclaimed “ordinary woman” was an outspoken advocate for the women’s movement, and pushed for the Equal Rights Amendment and liberalized abortion laws. When Ford publicly disclosed that she was entering treatment for a nodule in her right breast, thousands of women across the United States sought screening for breast cancer. She is perhaps best remembered for establishing the Betty Ford Center, a live-in treatment program for substance abuse, following her own battles with prescription medications and alcohol. In response to criticism of her outspokenness, she wrote simply that she “felt the public had a right to know where I stood.”