(Washington) Progressive U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Friday announced that she had been treated for two months for a relapsed liver cancer, but said she was not planning to leave office .
Posted on 17 July 2020 at 12 h 58
Cyril JULIEN
France Media Agency
“I have often said that I will remain a member of the Court as long as I can do my full-time job. I remain fully capable of doing so, ”explained the magistrate 87 years old, whose state of health is followed closely by Democrats and activists of the American left.
“I will continue my biweekly chemotherapy sessions to keep my cancer at bay and I am able to maintain my daily activity,” she said in a press release.
M me Bader Ginsburg, one of four progressive judges out of the nine of the Supreme Court, has become a champion of the cause of women, minorities and the environment since her appointment in 1990 by Bill Clinton.
She even earned the nickname “Notorious RBG”, in reference to the famous rapper “Notorious BIG” murdered in 1993.
“She is a fighter”, commented Carl Tobias, professor of law at the University of Richmond, hailing a magistrate “extremely independent, clear, talented and visionary”.
“Even if his opinions do not prevail (within the Court), his incisive comments open up the majority's arguments and show how similar cases should be resolved in the future”, he said. he explains.
His supporters fear that his resignation or death will further anchor the temple of American law in the conservative camp.
President Donald Trump, who is running for a second term in November, has since appointed 2017 two Conservative judges favorable to the carrying of weapons and opposed to abortion.
The appointment of a third would give Republicans, according to Carl Tobias, “five solid votes on the majority of issues of vital importance to American democracy”, while judges are appointed for life.
Wisdom and commitment
As every time Ruth Bader Ginsburg reveals having a health problem, Democratic officials have posted messages of support on Twitter.
“Keep on fighting, Judge Ginsburg!” We need your wisdom and your commitment to equality more than ever, ”said Indiana politician André Carson, one of three Muslim parliamentarians in the US Congress.
According to M me Bader Ginsburg, a biopsy taken in February detected liver damage , who could not be treated with immunotherapy.
She started on 19 May chemotherapy which “produces positive results”, did it indicated. A July 7 exam found “a significant reduction in liver damage and no new disease.”
The magistrate assured that her treatment had not disrupted her work. “I continued to write opinions and my other activities in court,” she said, including studying the multiple appeals filed this week by lawyers and the relatives of three death row inmates.
She also clarified that her brief hospitalization this week was unrelated to her cancer.
The judge had undergone an endoscopy on Tuesday to “clean a stent placed in August 2017 on the bile duct”, according to a statement from the Court supreme.
M me Bader Ginsburg has been hospitalized several times in recent years, notably for an infection related to the obstruction by a calculus of the cystic duct last May.
In 2019, she had undergone an operation to remove cancerous nodules from the lung and the previous year, this thin woman had fractured ribs during a fall. She has also overcome four cancers over the years 1990.
Asked Tuesday evening about his last hospitalization, Donald Trump, whom “RBG” had called an “impostor” during the election campaign before regretting his words, wished him a speedy recovery.
“I hope she gets better, she actually gave me some good decisions,” he said.
The Supreme Court has yet inflicted several setbacks on it recently, in particular by extending the rights of homosexual and transgender employees or by invalidating its decision to cancel the protections granted to nearly 700 00 0 young migrants.
On each occasion, the Head of the Court, moderate Conservative John Roberts, and one of the judges appointed by Mr. Trump, Neil Gorsuch, voted with the Progressives.