Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospitalized After Falling in Office

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was admitted to a hospital Wednesday night after [...]

By Libby Birk

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was admitted to a hospital Wednesday night after suffering a fall in her office and fracturing three ribs.

NBC Politics reports that Ginsburg, 85, was admitted to a hospital for observation and treatment. Tests showed that she fractured three ribs on her left side.

According to a statement from the Court on Thursday, Ginsburg went home after the fall but continued to experience "discomfort overnight" and went to George Washington University Hospital early Thursday.

The court said that more information would be provided as it became available.

"Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg fell in her office at the Court last evening. She went home, but after experiencing discomfort overnight, went to George Washington University Hospital early this morning. Tests showed that she fractured three ribs on her left side and she was admitted for observation and treatment. Updates will be provided as they become available," read the Court's full statement.

Ginsburg broke two ribs in 2012 after suffering a fall, an incident she did not disclose to the public until months later. She has had two prior bouts with cancer and had a stent implanted in 2014 to open a blocked artery, according to The Associated Press.

Earlier this year, Ginsburg said she intended to stay on the bench for at least five more years. "I'm now 85," she said in July, according to CNN. "My senior colleague, Justice John Paul Stevens, he stepped down when he was 90, so I think I have about at least five more years."

She wrote the first opinion of the Supreme Court's term this year on age discrimination. It became the third consecutive year that Ginsburg has penned the first opinion of the term.

In recent years, Ginsburg has gained celebrity status among progressives, who refer to her as the "Notorious RBG" and was the subject of a recent documentary, RBG.

Ginsburg is the second female justice fo the U.S. Supreme Court. She was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals in 1980 by President Jimmy Carter for the District of Columbia. She served there until she was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1993 by President Bill Clinton.

The oldest member of the Supreme Court, Ginsburg has served on the court for more than 25 years and is considered one of the court's more liberal justices.

Ginsburg was married to her husband Martin D. Ginsburg for 56 years until June 27, 2010 when he died from cancer. She described him as her biggest supporter and "the only young man I dated who cared that I had a brain."

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