Retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court, revealed that she is in the beginning stages of dementia and “probably Alzheimer’s disease,” according to a report Tuesday.
O’Connor, 88, told the Associated Press in a letter that her diagnosis was made “some time ago” and that as her condition worsens, she is “no longer able to participate in public life.”
“Since many people have asked about my current status and activities, I want to be open about these changes, and while I am still able, share some personal thoughts,” she wrote.
O’Connor went on to relate how she made a commitment to her family after stepping down from the bench in 2006 and the satisfaction she got from her work to “advance civic learning and engagement” for students through her iCivics program.
She also reflected on her rise from “a young cowgirl from the Arizona desert” to a seat on the highest court in the land.
“While the final chapter of my life with dementia may be trying, nothing has diminished my gratitude and deep appreciation for the countless blessings in my life,” she said in her letter. “How fortunate I feel to be an American and to have been presented with the remarkable opportunities available to the citizens of our country.”
“I never could have imagined that one day I would become the first woman justice on the U.S. Supreme Court,” she continued.
O’Connor, appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981, retired in 2006, a decision influenced by her husband, John O’Connor, whose health was deteriorating after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
He died in November 2008 at the age of 79.
During her time on the court, O’Connor cast key votes to reaffirm Roe v. Wade, protect voting rights and uphold affirmative action and civil liberties.
She was also the swing vote on Bush v. Gore, the case that settled the 2000 presidential election for George W. Bush — a decision she later lamented.
“Maybe the court should have said, ‘We’re not going to take it, goodbye,'” she told the Chicago Tribune in 2013.
Her son, Jay O’Connor, told the AP in an article published Monday that his mother was having problems with short-term memory and was staying close to her home in Phoenix.
“When she hit about 86 years old she decided that it was time to slow things down, that she’d accomplished most of what she set out to do in her post-retirement years, that she was getting older physically and her memory was starting to be more challenging, so the time came to dial back her public life,” he said.
