Feminist Gladiator, Justice Ginsburg passes on at 87
U.S. Supreme Court announced the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Friday.
In a statement, the court mentioned that she died from “complications of metastatic pancreas cancer.”
Ginsburg had announced a recurrence of cancer in May stating that a biopsy had revealed lesions on her liver.
According to her, chemotherapy was yielding positive results.
“I will continue bi-weekly chemotherapy to keep my cancer at bay, and am able to maintain an active daily routine. Throughout, I have kept up with opinion writing and all other Court work.”
“I have often said I would remain a member of the Court as long as I can do the job full steam. I remain fully able to do that.”
Justice Ginsburg was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1933.
She graduated from The University of Cornell in 1954 and began law school at Harvard. As a lawyer, she became a leading courtroom advocate of women’s rights before joining the court.
In the 1970’s, the cases brought before the court within her capacity as the director of the Women’s Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union helped establish constitutional protections against sex discrimination.
Until her death, she served as the most senior member of the court’s liberal wing, consistently delivering progressive votes on the most divisive social issues of the day, including abortion rights, same-sex marriage, voting rights, immigration, health care and affirmative action.
A feminist gladiator, her career earned the nickname ‘Notorious R.B.G’ for her very precise oral arguments, and passionate judicial opinions.