Justice Ginsburg Is Hospitalized With Possible Infection
Justice Ginsburg Hospitalized with Possible Infection
(Bloomberg) -- Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will be hospitalized for a few days after being admitted Tuesday to treat a possible infection, the U.S. Supreme Court said, in the latest health scare for the 87-year-old liberal.
Ginsburg underwent an endoscopic procedure to clean out a bile duct stent, the court said in a statement. The stent was placed in August when she was treated successfully for a malignant tumor on her pancreas.
“The justice is resting comfortably and will stay in the hospital for a few days to receive intravenous antibiotic treatment,” the court said.
Ginsburg is the court’s oldest justice and a four-time cancer survivor.
Her health has been of keen concern in recent years, in part because the Supreme Court could turn sharply to the right if she had to step down and President Donald Trump were able to appoint her successor. Ginsburg was appointed to the court in 1993 by Democratic President Bill Clinton.
Trump, told of her hospitalization during a press briefing at the White House on Tuesday evening, said, “I wish her the absolute best.”
The president also said, “She’s actually given me some good rulings.”
Ginsburg was examined at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington Monday night after experiencing fever and chills, the court said. She was admitted to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore on Tuesday morning.
Ginsburg was hospitalized in May to be treated for a benign gallbladder condition, taking part while there in telephone arguments the court was conducting. She has previously battled colon and breast cancer, as well as an earlier bout with pancreatic cancer.
The court issued the final opinions of its nine-month term last week, though the justices are likely to stay busy in the coming months handling emergency matters. In a 5-4 order issued at about 2 a.m. Tuesday morning, the justices cleared the federal death penalty to resume.
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