Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospitalized, Fractured 3 Ribs In Fall At Her Office
Bloomberg News has reported that 85-year-old Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has fractured three ribs in a fall in her office at the court and is currently hospitalized.
The news outlet explained that the justice went to a hospital in Washington early Thursday morning. She reportedly experienced discomfort overnight after her fall, which occurred Wednesday evening.
Bloomberg reported that Ginsburg was admitted to the hospital for treatment and observation after tests showed she had fractured three ribs.
CNBC released the following statement from the Supreme Court.
“She went home, but after experiencing discomfort overnight, went to George Washington University Hospital early this morning,” the statement said. “Tests showed that she fractured three ribs on her left side and she was admitted for observation and treatment.”
CNBC also reported that Ginsburg’s health has been an issue of concern over the past several years.
Ginsburg is the court’s oldest member and one of its four liberal justices. She is also the second woman ever to serve in the role of Supreme Court Justice.
Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg had a previous fall in 2012, where she broke two ribs. At the time, Ginsburg did not reveal her accident to the public until months later.
The court said at the time, as reported by CNBC, that despite the 2012 fracture, Ginsburg “did not skip a beat” in her duties to the court.
The beloved judge has persevered in her work on the bench despite several health issues, including surviving both colon and pancreatic cancer and a heart procedure in which she received a stent in her right coronary artery.
CNBC reported Ginsburg was the author of a landmark brief that led the Supreme Court, in 1971, to apply the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment to women. The 14th Amendment granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States, including former slaves, and guaranteed all citizens “equal protection of the laws.”
Ginsburg was appointed to the court by President Bill Clinton in 1993.
Before joining the court, she worked as the director of the ACLU’s Women’s Rights Project, as per the CNBC report.
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 85, has broken her ribs in a fall https://t.co/HIMX7LCbKm
— CNBC (@CNBC) November 8, 2018
The Washington Post reported that in July, during a speaking appearance in New York, Ginsburg said she expected to continue to serve on the court for at least five more years.
She reportedly said in 2017, as reported by The Washington Post, “As long as I can do the job full steam, I will do it.”
She has also reportedly hired law clerks through 2020.
Ginsburg’s hospitalization comes on the morning of the formal investiture of the court’s newest justice, Brett M. Kavanaugh, reported The Washington Post.
