Ruth Bader Ginsburg Released From Hospital After Possible Infection

After a brief tenure in the hospital, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has already been released. Ginsburg was admitted on Tuesday for a gallbladder infection at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.

“She is doing well and glad to be home,” according to a Supreme Court press release, via NPR. It also stated that Ginsburg would return to Johns Hopkins Hospital for follow-up outpatient visits, along with a nonsurgical procedure to remove her gallstone. Prior to her release, the 97-year-old participated in a virtual Supreme Court hearing from her hospital room. Arguments before the U.S. high court have been taking place by phone due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Following her admission on Tuesday, the Supreme Court released a statement Ginsburg “was initially evaluated at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C., last night after experiencing fever and chills.” It also indicated that she was “resting comfortably and will stay in the hospital for a few days to receive intravenous antibiotic treatment.”

Before this recent bout, Ginsburg was previously hospitalized back in May for acute cholecystitis, where she was also treated at Johns Hopkins Hospital. The court’s official statement at the time clarified that her acute cholecystitis was basically a benign gallbladder condition, as well as her plans to participate in oral arguments that had already been scheduled.

Ginsburg has encountered numerous health issues in recent years, including recurring bouts with cancer. In August of 2019, she was treated for a tumor on her pancreas and in December 2018, had two cancerous nodules removed from her lungs. In January 2020, Ginsburg happily announced she was “cancer-free.”

Despite health issues and court hearings conducted by phone (or Zoom, to mixed results), the Supreme Court has issued several historic rulings of late, including declaring that roughly half of Oklahoma was Indigenous land, ruling that employers are exempt from providing birth control due to religious or moral opposition, subverting a provision of the Affordable Care Act, as well as the whopper over President Donald Trump’s taxes.

Earlier in July, the Supreme Court ruled that the president’s tax returns and other financial records had to be turned over to a grand jury. However, those same records were not currently subject to a subpoena from the House of Representatives, though it marked a significant blow to Trump, who has been the first president (or presidential candidate) not to release their taxes since the Nixon administration.