Obituary

Sandra Day O’Connor, First Woman on US Supreme Court, Dies at 93

  • Justice was court’s decisive vote on abortion, religion, race
  • Role model for women faced discrimination early in career
Sandra Day O'Connor

Photographer: Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images

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Sandra Day O’Connor, who became the decisive vote on abortion, religion, race and other hot-button social issues during a history-making tenure as the first woman on the US Supreme Court, has died. She was 93.

She died Friday morning in Phoenix, Arizona, of complications related to advanced dementia and a respiratory illness, the court announced. In 2018, at age 88, she announced that she had been diagnosed with dementia and would be stepping away from public activities.