Yesterday’s Washington Post had an article delving into the Chief Justice’s decision to keep his medical condition a private matter. Some great quotes:
During his 1986 Senate confirmation hearings for chief justice, Rehnquist, who had been hospitalized in 1982 for withdrawal symptoms related to a reduction in the dosage of his prescription pain medications, said that “so long as I am able to perform my duties, I do not think I have any obligation to give the press a health briefing.”
Later in 1986, when a reporter asked him if the court could give out more health data, Rehnquist replied, “You people behave like a bunch of vultures.”