Sandra Day O’Connor announces dementia diagnosis

Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to serve as a U.S. Supreme Court justice, announced Tuesday she has been diagnosed with dementia and potentially Alzheimer’s disease. In a public letter, O’Connor announced her retirement from public life because of her health. She took the opportunity to exhort Americans to value civic education and involvement, writing that the shared understanding of American identity facilitates “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 government institutions accountable.”

Former President Ronald Reagan nominated O’Connor in 1981. After her unanimous confirmation to the high court, she served as a crucial swing vote on key social issues and helped decide the 2000 Bush v. Gore case about presidential election results in Florida in favor of George W. Bush. She retired from the court in 2005, a decision influenced by her husband John O’Connor’s struggle with Alzheimer’s. After her retirement, she founded the group iCivics to promote civic education to children through free online games.

“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,” O’Connor wrote. “As a young cowgirl from the Arizona desert, I never could have imagined that one day I would become the first woman justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.” She said she would remain with her family in Phoenix, Ariz.