RETIRED JUSTICE O’CONNOR SAYS SHE HAS DEMENTIA
First woman to serve on Supreme Court stepping away from public life
Washington — Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor says she has been diagnosed with dementia, probably Alzheimer’s disease, and is stepping away from public activities.
The 88-year-old O’Connor, the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court, said in an open letter released by the court Tuesday that doctors diagnosed her “some time ago” with the beginning stages of dementia.
“As this condition has progressed, I am no longer able to participate in public life,” she wrote. “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.”
Washington — Retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor revealed Tuesday in a letter that she has stepped away from public life because she is suffering from dementia, and urged others to carry on the effort to get young Americans involved in government.
The first woman to serve on the Supreme Court, O’Connor announced in a letter to the public she is in the beginning stages of dementia, “probably Alzheimer’s disease.”
She said her diagnosis was made some time ago and that as her condition has progressed, she is “no longer able to participate in public life.”
O’Connor, now 88, served as a state legislator in Arizona, including as the majority leader of the state Senate, as well as a judge before President Ronald Reagan chose her for the high court in 1981. She announced her retirement in 2005 and said then her decision was influenced by the declining health of her husband, John O’Connor III, who also suffered from Alzheimer’s disease.
While serving as a justice, she said she had been surprised and dismayed to see that young people were learning little about government and courts.
“Not long after I retired from the Supreme Court twelve years ago, I made a commitment to myself, my family, and my country that I would use whatever years I had left to advance civic learning and engagement,” she wrote in her letter. “I feel so strongly about the topic because I’ve seen first-hand how vital it is for all citizens to understand our Constitution and unique system of government, and participate actively in their communities. It is through this shared understanding of who we are that we can follow the approaches that have served us best over time — working collaboratively together in communities and in government to solve problems, putting country and the common good above party and self-interest, and holding our key governmental institutions accountable. Eight years ago, I started iCivics for just this purpose — to teach the core principles of civics to middle and high school students with free online interactive games and curriculum that make learning relevant and remarkably effective. Today, iCivics (www.icivics.org) reaches half the youth in our country. We must reach all our youth, and we need to find ways to get people — young and old — more involved in their communities and in their government.”
O’Connor was raised on a cattle ranch in the desert along the border of Arizona and New Mexico, which she noted in her closing comments.