Death of former Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court in 1981, was a moderate and pragmatic conservative whose positions often favored compromise within the institution, which she left in 2006.

Ms. O’Connor, considered by many to be “the most powerful woman in America” ​​during her nearly 25 years on the bench, died Friday at age 93 after years of battling Alzheimer’s disease.

She was appointed in September 1981 by Republican President Ronald Reagan, ending 191 years of male exclusivity on the high court. She remained the only woman until Bill Clinton nominated Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 1993. she left the court in early 2006, in part to help her husband John O’Connor battle Alzheimer’s disease.

Moderate Conservative

As a moderate conservative, she often provided the deciding fifth vote among the nine justices, voting as needed with her fellow conservatives—such as when she blocked a Florida recount in the 2000 presidential election, opening the White House to George W. Bush—or with progressives.

Many lawyers and advocates came to defend their cases before the Court, addressing Ms. O’Connor with extreme caution. “The rule of law (…) must be flexible enough to adapt to different circumstances,” she said in 2001. Her influence on the issue of abortion rights in particular was symbolic.

In 1989, Sandra Day O’Connor refused to join the four justices willing to challenge the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that held abortion to be a constitutional right. Abortion opponents had to wait until June 2022 to achieve a historic turnaround thanks to the arrival of conservative judges appointed by Donald Trump.

Appointed by Reagan

Sandra Day was born on March 26, 1930, in El Paso, Texas, and grew up in Arizona on a huge and isolated ranch, in a not very religious family open to intellectual discussion and travel, where she also learned to drive from an early age. 7 years old and shooting a pistol. She entered the prestigious Stanford University in California, where her father dreamed of studying. She graduated with honors in law in 1952, met her husband John O’Connor and became a lawyer. The couple has three sons.

Ms. O’Connor then became an assistant district attorney and was elected to the Arizona State Assembly. In 1981, when Ronald Reagan, who had promised during his campaign to appoint a woman to the Supreme Court, thought about her, Sandra O’Connor was a judge in Arizona and at the time virtually unknown outside her state.

Suddenly thrust into the spotlight at the end of a historic appointment, she initially became the target of critics and skeptics who noted her lack of experience. Some on the right are concerned about his views on abortion, while others on the left are concerned about his stance on feminist issues. But she quickly got down to business and quickly established herself through her independence and hard work.

Decorated by Obama

In 1988, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, which required delicate surgery. This energetic woman with thick silver hair has been away from the prestigious establishment for only two weeks. After leaving the court in 2006, she founded iCivics in 2009, which teaches civics education to middle and high school students online.

Before retiring from public life in 2018 to battle Alzheimer’s disease, it was Democratic President Barack Obama who awarded him the United States’ highest civilian honor, the Medal of Freedom, in 2009. He then hailed his rapid rise in a male-dominated world.

“Sandra Day O’Connor is like the pilgrim in the poem she sometimes quotes, the one who cleared a new path and built a bridge that many more women could follow.” The US Supreme Court now has 4 out of 9 female judges.