US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dies

19 September 2020, 07:16 | Updated: 19 September 2020, 09:47

Ruth Bader Ginsburg has died aged 87 at her home
Ruth Bader Ginsburg has died aged 87 at her home. Picture: PA Images
Ewan Quayle

By Ewan Quayle

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has died aged 87, the court has confirmed.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on Friday at her home in Washington, the court says.

Ms Ginsburg died of complications from metastatic pancreatic cancer, the court says.

She was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1993 and was in recent years renowned as the most senior member of the court's liberal wing.

Young women especially seemed to embrace the court's Jewish grandmother, affectionately calling her the Notorious RBG, for her defence of the rights of women and minorities, and the strength and resilience she displayed in the face of personal loss and health crises.

Her health issues included five bouts with cancer beginning in 1999, falls that resulted in broken ribs, insertion of a stent to clear a blocked artery and assorted other hospital treatments after she turned 75.

It affords Republicans and US President Donald Trump the opportunity to select a new court judge before the elections in November.

She 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.

Instead, President Donald Trump is now expected to push Ms Ginsburg's successor through the Republican-controlled Senate - and move the conservative court even more to the right.

Speculation is mounting about what her death will mean for laws surrounding social issues such as abortion and gay rights, which have been increasingly decriminalised through rulings at the court.

Reports suggest Ms Ginsburg told her granddaughter on her deathbed: "My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed."

The US senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said senators will vote on Mr Trump's choice to replace Ms Ginsburg, even though it is an election year.

Mr Trump called Ms Ginsburg an "amazing woman" and did not mention filling her vacant supreme court seat when he spoke to reporters following a rally in Minnesota.

Mr Biden said the winner of the November election should choose Ms Ginsburg's replacement.

"There is no doubt - let me be clear - that the voters should pick the president and the president should pick the justice for the senate to consider," Mr Biden told reporters in Delaware.

Former president Barack Obama was among those paying tribute to Ms Ginsburg.

He said: "Over a long career on both sides of the bench - as a relentless litigator and an incisive jurist - justice Ginsburg helped us see that discrimination on the basis of sex isn't about an abstract ideal of equality; that it doesn't only harm women; that it has real consequences for all of us. It's about who we are - and who we can be."

US chief justice John Roberts also mourned Ms Ginsburg's passing, saying: "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."

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

Donald Trump

Donald Trump back at New York civil fraud trial as testimony nears end

Will it snow this weekend/?

When is it going to snow next? Met Office verdict on weekend weather

Shane MacGowan's wife has given an update ahead of the star's funeral on Friday.

‘My heart is bursting open with love’: Shane MacGowan’s wife gives emotional update ahead of Pogues star’s funeral

Full dates of 2024 bank holidays

When is the next bank holiday? Full list of 2024 dates

The family of Ruth Perry said "urgent lessons" must be learned after a coroner concluded an Ofsted inspection contributed to her taking her own life.

Ruth Perry's family hits out at 'perverse, inhumane' Ofsted system as inquiry finds it 'likely contributed' to her death

Smoke rises following an Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel

Strikes on Gaza’s southern edge sow fear in one of last areas people can flee to

Dame Esther is set to step down from her presidency as she battles lung cancer.

Dame Esther Rantzen steps down as Childline president after terminal lung cancer diagnosis

Buildings were damaged by a massive explosion on Mahe, Seychelles

Seychelles declares state of emergency after explosion amid destructive flooding

The prime suspect in the Madeleine McCann case is finding it difficult being accused of her kidnapping.

Madeleine McCann prime suspect 'struggling with pressure of being accused of one of most infamous crimes'

Prince Harry told the High Court he and Meghan were 'forced' to leave the UK

‘The UK is my home and Meghan and I were forced to leave,’ Prince Harry says in High Court security battle

Holly Willoughby is offered 'big money' deal with return to Dancing On Ice

Holly Willoughby to be offered 'big money' deal to return as Dancing On Ice co-host

Boris Johnson gives evidence to the Covid Inquiry

Boris Johnson tells Covid Inquiry he 'could not have done more' to stop Downing Street parties

This is the moment a Ulez camera explodes.

Shocking moment Ulez camera explodes after being targeted by anti-Ulez activists

APTOPIX Campus Shooting Las Vegas

Gunman dead after killing three in attack at Las Vegas university

Phillip Schofield quit This Morning earlier this year

ITV 'did not cover-up evidence of Phillip Schofield's affair with This Morning runner before star quit,' review finds

A British Airways flight had a near-miss with a drone, a new report has revealed.

British Airways flight carrying 216 passengers missed illegal drone by just 20ft while 3,000ft in the air over Windsor