BRITTNEY PIERCE
HEAD EDITOR
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was admitted to the hospital on Nov 9 after falling in her office and fracturing three ribs. Ginsburg, who is 85, has had several health scares prior to this one. She has had cancer twice and one heart procedure since she was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Bill Clinton in 1993.
Nevertheless, Ginsburg continues to overcome, and now is a more critical time than ever for her to be in good health.
Since coming into office, Trump had the opportunity to appoint two of the current nine Supreme Court Justices who serve a lifetime appointment: Neil Gorsuch and the infamous Brett Kavanaugh, which gave the Supreme Court a solid 5-4 conservative majority.
If anything happened to Ruth Bader Ginsburg before the next Presidential election (God forbid), Trump would have the opportunity to appoint another Supreme Court Justice, meaning he would then have handpicked one third of the court.
The United States surely does not need any more Brett Kavanaughs holding one of the most powerful positions in the country for the rest of his life; one is bad enough as is. Ginsburg’s position on the court is critical for the representation of women in our county. Judging by what we have seen from Trump so far, we all know that it is highly unlikely that he would appoint another woman to fill her spot if anything did happen to Ginsburg.
Luckily, Ginsburg is one tough woman, always returning to the bench rapidly after any setback. She recently pledged to stay on the Supreme Court as long as she is physically and mentally able to, which she predicted to be at least past 2020.
Ginsburg was only the second woman ever to be appointed to the Supreme Court and has always been a major advocate for women’s rights.
However, as difficult as it is to get appointed to the nation’s more prestigious court,
Ginsburg’s journey was even more difficult than usual. Ginsburg grew up in a low-income neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. Her mother was a huge inspiration for her and always stressed the importance of Ginsburg’s education. Unfortunately, her mother died of cancer the day before her graduation ceremony.
Ginsburg went on to graduate first in her class at Cornell University and then became a student at Harvard Law. During law school, Ginsburg faced the challenges of balancing being a mother and a law student all while her husband was deployed. Not to mention she faced enormous disadvantages being one of only 8 women in a class of 500.
On top of all that, she became the first female member of the legal journal the Harvard Law Review.
Excelling at her own law school studies and battling gender discrimination all while being a mother alone is incredibly impressive, but it doesn’t end there.
Ginsburg’s husband was diagnosed with cancer at the same time and she proceeded to take notes for her husband. Basically, she was pursuing not one, but two law school educations at the same time.
After transferring to Columbia Law school to be in New York where her husband accepted a job at a law firm, Ginsburg graduated first in her class.
Later she became the first female tenured professor and Columbia Law. Ginsburg is one of the most accomplished women of our time. She is truly a hero to us all and without her, the Supreme Court would be a very dark place
