Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the first female to sit on America’s highest court and an unwavering voice of moderate conservatism, died on Friday, December 1, in Phoenix Arizona. According to a statement by the Supreme Court, O’Connor died from complications linked to advanced dementia and respiratory illness. She was 93.
She was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981, and sat on the court for more than 24 years until her retirement in 2006. O’Connor whose husband suffered from Alzheimer’s, withdrew from public life in 2018 after she was diagnosed with dementia. She announced that as her condition progressed, she was no longer able to participate in public life.
Throughout her 24-year term on the bench, O’Connor voted on some of the most belligerent issues the court has faced, including affirmative action and abortion. One of her most momentous roles was in the 5-4 vote in Bush v. Gore, as she joined justices Anthony Kennedy, William Rehnquist, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas in a decision that led to George W. Bush’s 2000 election win.
In 2009, she was awarded the ‘Presidential Medal of Freedom’ for her role in transforming the American judiciary, paving the way for women to join what had been a men-only club.
She is survived by her three sons, Scott, Brian, and Jay.
