Sandra Day O'Connor Says She Has Dementia, Withdraws From Public Life
O'Connor, the first woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, says she has been diagnosed with "the beginning stages of dementia, probably Alzheimer's disease."
Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor says she has been diagnosed with "the beginning stages of dementia, probably Alzheimer's disease," in an open letter that was released Tuesday.
O'Connor, 88, is the first female justice to serve on the high court, and she has remained active after retiring in 2006. She left the court to care for her husband, John, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Now, O'Connor says, the disease is forcing her to withdraw from public life.
Despite her condition, O'Connor said,
