RBG Will Participate In Supreme Court Oral Arguments From Her Hospital Bed

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was hospitalized for a gallbladder condition, but she’s doing well

Beloved Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was hospitalized for a gallbladder condition earlier this week — in case you’re wondering what that sound is, it’s a collective national panic rising during a time of extreme collective national panic. Thankfully, RBG is doing well and did not require surgery. She’s also expected to participate in oral arguments virtually later today, because it’s RBG we’re talking about here.

According to the court’s office of public information, RBG is convalescing at Johns Hopkins Hospital. She was treated without surgery for acute cholecystitis — a “benign gallbladder condition,” according to the office.

“Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg underwent non-surgical treatment for acute cholecystitis, a benign gallbladder condition, this afternoon at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland,” a statement from the Supreme Court said. “Following oral arguments on Monday, the Justice underwent outpatient tests at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C., that confirmed she was suffering from a gallstone that had migrated to her cystic duct, blocking it and causing an infection. The Justice is resting comfortably and plans to participate in the oral argument teleconference tomorrow morning remotely from the hospital. She expects to stay in the hospital for a day or two. Updates will be provided as they become available.”

The 87-year-old justice has had multiple health issues over the past few years, including more than one bout with cancer. She was treated for a tumor on her pancreas in August 2019. Prior to that, in January 2019, Ginsburg was recovering from surgery that removed two cancerous growths from her left lung and, as a result, missed oral arguments for the first time since she was sworn in as a Supreme Court Justice back in 1993.

There is a fair amount of pressure for RBG to remain on the bench, which isn’t exactly fair to an 87-year-old woman who has worked tirelessly throughout her entire life to be on the right side of history. Stepping down now means Donald Trump would be the one to appoint a new justice to the bench, and after Kavanaugh and *gestures widely to literally everything through the past four years*, we simply cannot afford to have that happen.

Supreme Court justices are appointed for a lifetime term, technically speaking. Ginsburg was asked whether she would retire during President Obama’s second term, and she shot it down. She’s still working — from her hospital bed, multiple times no less — through her current term that extends through this year.

Here’s hoping she remains healthy, feisty, and judicious as ever.