Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the US Supreme Court judge, has died at age 87 due to complications from pancreatic cancer.
Justice Ginsburg died at her home in Washington D.C. surrounded by her family on Saturday evening (local time), according to a statement released by the US Supreme Court.
Ginsburg announced back in July that she was undergoing chemotherapy for lesions on her liver, the latest of her several battles with cancer.
She was a fighter until the end. Ginsburg had suffered several health issues throughout her life, including falls that resulted in broken ribs, insertion of a stent to clear a blocked artery and assorted other hospitalisations after she reached 75. She also battled cancer five times, beginning in 1999.
In a lifetime of achievements, Ginsburg was the second woman appointed to the US Supreme Court. She served for a huge 27 years after being appointed by Bill Clinton in 1993. Ginsburg would spend her final years on the bench as the leader of the court’s liberal wing.
She first resisted calls by liberals to retire during Barack Obama’s presidency at a time when Democrats held the Senate and a replacement with similar views could have been confirmed.
Ginsburg’s death could dramatically change the ideological balance of the court, which currently has a 5-4 conservative majority. Her sad death presents President Donald Trump an opportunity to expand the court’s conservative majority to his liking.
Affectionately known as “the Notorious RBG,” she was an iconic figure for younger women due to her fierce defence of the rights of women and minorities. Her strength and resilience in the face of adversity was also greatly admired.
Her celebrity had grown in recent years. The biographical legal drama On the Basis of Sex, was released in 2018 with actor Felicity Jones portraying Ginsburg. There was also a widely-shared but affectionate impersonation of her by Saturday Night Live‘s Kate McKinnon.
Check out PBS NewsHour‘s ‘Remembering Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, dead at 87’:
