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.
"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. How fortunate I feel to be an American and to have been presented with the remarkable opportunities available to the citizens of our country. 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 wrote.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., who joined the court a few months before O'Connor's retirement took effect, issued a statement in response to her letter.
"I was saddened to learn that Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, like many Americans, faces the challenge of dementia. But I was not at all surprised that she used the occasion of sharing that fact to think of our country first, and to urge an increased commitment to civics education, a cause to which she devoted so much of her time and indomitable energy. Justice O'Connor is of course a towering figure in the history of the United States and indeed the world. She broke down barriers for women in the legal profession to the betterment of that profession and the country as a whole. She serves as a role model not only for girls and women, but for all those committed to equal justice under law. Although she has announced that she is withdrawing from public life, no illness or condition can take away the inspiration she provides for those who will follow the many paths she has blazed.
O'Connor was a state court judge before being unanimously confirmed to the Supreme Court at 51. She had graduated third in her class from Stanford Law School and was the first woman to lead the Arizona Senate.
On the Supreme Court, her votes were key in cases about abortion, affirmative action and campaign finance as well as the Bush vs. Gore decision that effectively settled the 2000 election in George W. Bush's favor.
O'Connor's son, Jay, said in an Associated Press report Monday that his mother had begun to have challenges with her short-term memory. He also said that hip problems now require her to use a wheelchair and stay close to her Phoenix home.
