I've always said that at the end of the day, on a legal issue, I think a wise old woman and a wise old man are going to reach the same conclusion.
Sandra Day O'ConnorRead
The abortion cases produced an enormous amount of mail to my chambers, vastly more than to the other chambers, I am sure. I sometimes thought there wasn't a woman in the United States who didn't write me a letter on one side or the other of that issue.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects the intense public interest and emotional response surrounding abortion cases, highlighting how deeply the issue resonates with individuals.
Sandra Day O'Connor's quote illustrates the profound impact that abortion cases had on society, as evidenced by the overwhelming correspondence she received. This response underscores the divisive nature of the topic and emphasizes how it compelled many individuals, particularly women, to voice their opinions, showcasing the importance of the issue in American discourse.
Themes
AbortionWomen'S RightsJusticeLawPublic Opinion
In practice
Example use cases
During a women's rights conference, this quote might be used to highlight the significance of women’s voices in legal matters.
More from Sandra Day O'Connor
All quotes →In order to cultivate a set of leaders with legitimacy in the eyes of the citizenry, it is necessary that the path to leadership be visibly open to talented and qualified individuals of every race and ethnicity.
Sandra Day O'ConnorRead
In my work a good library is essential. It enables me to learn the background and previous discussions of the various issues I am called upon to decide. It provides the stability and continuity for the rule of law.
Sandra Day O'ConnorRead
The really expert riders of horses let the horse know immediately who is in control, but then they guide the horse with loose reins and very seldom use the spurs. So it was with our chief [William Rehnquist]. He guided us with loose reins and used the spurs only rarely to get us up to speed with our work.
Sandra Day O'ConnorRead
It is difficult to discern a serious threat to religious liberty from a room of silent, thoughtful schoolchildren.
Sandra Day O'ConnorRead
It was better for me when I was joined at the court by a second woman. When I was there alone, there was too much media focus on the one woman, and the minute we got another woman, that changed.
Sandra Day O'ConnorRead
Similar quotes
When Rumsfeld gets up on television and says we have definitive intelligence that al Qaeda is working with Iraq, how is an ordinary citizen supposed to react? They won't tell you the evidence, and when anyone asks, they say, 'Well, you know: It's secret.'
Noam ChomskyRead
Power must never be trusted without a check.
John AdamsRead
If you remove the English Army tomorrow and hoist the green flag over Dublin Castle., unless you set about the organization of the Socialist Republic your efforts will be in vain. England will still rule you. She would rule you through her capitalists, through her landlords, through her financiers, through the whole array of commercial and individualist institutions she has planted in this country and watered with the tears of our mothers and the blood of our martyrs
James ConnollyRead
Nothing is more false than the notion that the triumph of Communism is inevitable or that the Communists are steadily pushing the free world into a corner.
Robert KennedyRead
I don't think that people are disinterested or uninterested in politics. I think very often they are disengaged from the formal political process. To some extent they are suspicious or even despairing of formal politics as a means to give expression and effect to what they want.
John BercowRead
It is said that every people has the Government it deserves. It is more to the point that every Government has the electorate it deserves; for the orator of the front bench can edify or debauch an ignorant electorate at will.
George Bernard ShawRead