Justice Antonin Scalia's Health Woes Weren't Publicly Disclosed Before His Death
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Even though the relatives and doctors of the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia
reportedly knew about his health conditions, the fact that the concerns
were kept from the public is in keeping with the practices of the
court, experts said.
Unlike the White House, which regularly releases updates on the
president's health, the Supreme Court does not have set guidelines
regarding what they do and don't disclose publicly.
Scalia's Health History
When the 79-year-old justice was found dead on Saturday
in a hotel room at a luxury ranch in Texas, the county's presiding
judge, Cinderella Guevara, was called and pronounced him dead.
Guevara said she spoke to Scalia's doctor in Washington who told her
that Scalia had been sick and had visited his office twice during the
week leading up to the trip.
The Associated Press reported that Guevara said the doctor told her that
Scalia had a history of high blood pressure, heart trouble and was
considered too weak to undergo shoulder surgery following a recent
injury.
Guevara told ABC News that the death certificate will say that he died
of natural causes with myocardial infarction, better known as a heart
attack, being a contributing factor.
Health Factors Weighing In
Dr. Sahil Parikh, an interventional cardiologist at University Hospitals
Case Medical Center, never treated Scalia but said that even without
knowing his specific family history, there are certain clear factors
that may have contributed.
Parikh said that two significant risk factors for heart disease are an
individual’s age and gender, with men over 55 years old being the most
at-risk group.
“He clearly has some risk factors for heart disease and as those
increase in number, so does your risk for having a coronary event,”
Parikh told ABC News.
AP PhotoThe Tradition With Justices
Even though it appears that nothing had been released recently by the
Supreme Court about Justice Scalia's health, there have been other
disclosures made about different members of the bench.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who is now 82, has had cancer twice and made disclosures in both cases.
Kate Shaw, an ABC News contributor and an assistant professor of law at
the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York, said that Ginsburg
has been "very forthcoming" with regards to her health.
Ginsburg released a statement in November 2014 saying that she was going to have a heart stent implanted.
"The procedure went smoothly, and she did not miss a single day of oral arguments," Shaw said.
Shaw also pointed out that the court released a statement after Chief Justice John Roberts suffered a seizure in 2007.
The disclosures, when they come, typically are made after an official prognosis by a doctor.
Win McNamee/Getty Images
"When Chief Justice Rehnquist was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in
October 2004, the Supreme Court's public information office announced
the diagnosis, and further announced that he would be undergoing
radiation and chemotherapy," Shaw said.
"He returned to the bench in March of 2005, and when he declined to
announce his retirement at the end of that term -- Justice O’Connor
instead announced her retirement -- the assumption was that Chief
Justice Rehnquist was in good health and would continue serving," Shaw
said. "But his health rapidly declined in July and August, and he died
on Sept. 3, 2005, creating a second vacancy for President Bush to fill."
According to a report compiled by the Congressional Research Service,
41% of the Supreme Court vacancies that occurred in the first half of
the 20th century were a result of a justice dying while in office.
Since then, however, Rehnquist's death was the only one for a sitting Justice since 1954, the report states.
end quote from:
Justice Antonin Scalia's Health Woes Weren't Publicly Disclose…Even
though the relatives and doctors of the late Supreme Court Justice
Antonin Scalia reportedly knew about his health conditions, the fact
that the …
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