Sandra Day O'Connor, first woman to serve on US Supreme Court, dies aged 93

The first woman to sit on the US Supreme Court, former Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, has died.

The 93-year-old died in Phoenix, Arizona due to complications related to advanced dementia and a respiratory illness.

Having been nominated to the Supreme Court in 1981 by President Ronald Regan, her induction ended 191 years of male exclusivity in the US high court.

While on the bench she helped the court's rulings on abortion, perhaps the most contentious and divisive issue the justices faced.

O’Connor fought back on letting states outlaw most abortions, refusing in 1989 to join four other justices who were ready to reverse the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade decision that said women have a constitutional right to abortion.

Thirty years after that decision, a more conservative court did overturn Roe and Casey, and the opinion was written by the man who took her high court seat, Justice Samuel Alito.

He joined the court upon O’Connor’s retirement in 2006, chosen by President George W. Bush.

Once dubbed the most powerful woman in the America, she remained the only female on the court until 1993, when Bill Clinton nominated Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

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