Appointment ups opportunities for women, O’Connor says

Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor says her appointment to the court has been seen as an indication that there are “virtually unlimited opportunities for women.” “I had no idea when I was apvointed how much it would mean to many people around the country,” she said in an interview in the April issue of the Ladies’ Home Journal published Tuesday. “It affected them in a very personal- way,” Mrs. O’Connor said. “People saw the appointment as signal that the,re are virtually unlimited opportunities for women. It’s important to mothers for their daughters and to daughters for themselves.” But Mrs. O’Connor said she does miss her former home in Phoenix, where she and her husband, John, had lived since the mid-1950s. “I miss the atmosphere of the desert, I miss the open vistas, the clear sky and the availablity of the outdoors,” she said. Her husband. a lawyer who has joined a Washington law firm, said in the Journal that his wife appointment has not . made his life difficult. ‘ “My life has become vastly broadened and vastly enriched by her appointment,” he said. “I am not only happy for Sandra because she is so competent and so deserving, but I am happy for myself and my family because all our lives have become more interesting. “Sandra’s accomplishments don’t make me a lesser man; they make me a fuller man.” For her part, Mrs. O’Connor said, “It may seem surprising, but my new position hasn’t really changed things in terms of how I deal with people. “There’s some nervousness