Sandra Day O’Connor, first female Supreme Court justice, dead at 93

Sandra Day O’Connor, who made history as the first female justice on the Supreme Court, died Friday morning. She was 93.

O’Connor, who retired from the high bench in 2006, 25 years after her nomination by President Ronald Reagan, passed away in her home state of Arizona due to complications from advanced dementia and a respiratory illness.

A moderate conservative, O’Connor was best known for her co-authorship of the majority opinion in 1992’s Planned Parenthood v. Casey, in which the justices ruled that state laws restricting abortion should not impose an “undue burden” on women seeking the procedure.

O’Connor was nominated by former President Ronald Reagan. Corbis via Getty Images

Sandra Day O’Connor is sworn in before the Senate Judiciary Committee during confirmation hearings as she seeks to become the first woman to take a seat on the US Supreme Court. Getty Images

O’Connor also signed on to the majority opinion in Bush v. Gore, which put an end to the weeks-long drama of the 2000 presidential election by nixing former Vice President Al Gore’s demands for a recount in Florida.

She also authored the decision in 2003’s Grutter v. Bollinger, which held that affirmative action programs based on race did not violate the 14th Amendment — a decision that was also overturned by the high court this past June.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.