Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was admitted to the hospital after fracturing three ribs from a fall in her office at the Supreme Court Wednesday night.
The court announced Thursday morning that Ginsburg, 85, went home after her fall, but experienced discomfort overnight. The justice went to George Washington University Hospital, where it was discovered after some tests that she had fractured three ribs on her left side, Politico reports. She was admitted to the hospital for “observation and treatment.”
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg fractured three ribs after falling in her Supreme Court office Wednesday night, the Supreme Court says in a statement. The 85-year-old was admitted to George Washington University Hospital for observation and treatment. https://t.co/bP1TEG95qJ pic.twitter.com/2jdpiDog5s
— CNN (@CNN) November 8, 2018
It is unknown as to how long Ginsburg will remain in the hospital, but she was unable to attend Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s investiture ceremony on Thursday morning. Kavanaugh had already assumed official duties after being confirmed by the Senate following an intense confirmation process riddled with sexual assault allegations. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were present for the investiture ceremony.
Ginsburg is one of four liberal-leaning judges on the Supreme Court, including Justices Stephen G. Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. With Trump’s successful nominations of Kavanaugh and Justice Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, the court has shifted to the right under the Trump administration.
Ginsburg has had a few health concerns in the past. According to Politico, in September 2009, the court announced that the justice had been hospitalized after reporting lightheadedness and fatigue following an iron infusion carried out at the doctor’s office at the Supreme Court. She had been receiving anti-anemia treatments. Earlier that year, she was hospitalized for pancreatic cancer surgery, and court statements showed that doctors found two growth on her pancreas, one benign and one malignant.
Ginsburg, also lovingly referred to as Notorious RBG, has developed quite a reputation for her toughness, mostly due to her rigorous personal training sessions at the Supreme Court exercise room. In fact, according to the law project Oyez, the justice has never missed a day of oral arguments.
The Supreme Court justice has also been tough in her fight for gender equality in the workplace. Starting out as only one of nine women in her Harvard Law School class, she became the first woman to become a tenured professor at Columbia University Law School, and went on to become the co-founder of the Women’s Right Project at the ACLU, a group that fought for the equal treatment of both genders, ABC News reports.
She became the second woman to ever serve on the Supreme Court after being nominated in 1993 by former President Bill Clinton.
When news of Ginsburg’s fall broke, White House counselor Kellyanne Conway told reporters on the White House lawn that she wished Ginsburg a “full and speedy recovery.”
“We are praying for her and we know how tough she is. I’ve known her for many, many years,” Conway said.