Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died Friday, Sept. 18, at 87 years old. She will be remembered as a strong willed role model, a cultural and feminist icon and loyal patriot through her years of dedicated hard work in the courts. The Supreme Court announced her death Friday, saying it was caused by complications from metastatic cancer of the pancreas.
Justice Ginsburg was a two time cancer survivor, surviving colon cancer in 1999 and early-stage pancreatic cancer 10 years later. In 2014, she received a coronary stent to clear a blocked artery. A statement from Chief Justice John G. Roberts read, “Our Nation has lost a jurist of historic stature. We at the Supreme Court have lost a cherished colleague. Today we mourn, but with confidence that future generations will remember Ruth Bader Ginsburg as we knew her — a tireless and resolute champion of justice.”
According to NPR, Ginsburg’s death “will inevitably set in motion what promises to be a nasty and tumultuous political battle over who will succeed her, and it thrusts the Supreme Court vacancy into the spotlight of the presidential campaign.” If Trump succeeds in filling Ginsburg’s seat with a justice in the mold of his two other appointees to the court, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, it will be one of the court’s most extreme ideological shifts. In a recent statement Ginsburg said, “My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.”
Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a historic figure. She was the second female Supreme Court Justice ever elected, by President Bill Clinton in June 1993. Throughout her career, she fought valiantly for American women and pioneered the fight for gender equality in courts. Her death marks a solemn day in American history. Last September, Meredith College’s Lillian Parker Wallace Lecture, “A Conversation with Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the Meredith community to hear Justice Ginsburg speak in person. During this event, students and alumnae alike were invited to witness a discussion between Justice Ginsburg and Meredith alumna Suzanne Reynolds. For more information about that event, see The Herald’s previous article, “Historic Conversations with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.”
A private service will be held for Justice Ginsburg at Arlington National Cemetery.
By Rachel Van Horne, News Editor