Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Ruth Bader Ginsburg is an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court. Ginsburg was appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1993 at the age of 60, and she assumed office in on August 10, 1993.

Justice Ginsburg was hospitalized briefly the night of October 15, 2009 and released the next morning. While boarding a plane she suffered "extreme drowsiness" believed to be caused by the combination of an over-the-counter cold medicine and a prescription sleep aid.http:www.msnbc.com

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was the second woman appointed to the court, the first being Sandra Day O'Connor. When O'Connor retired in 2005, Ginsburg became the only woman on the court. Ginsburg is considered to be one of the court's most liberal members, and she was named the most powerful female lawyer in America in 2007 by Forbes magazine.

Before assuming her position as a Supreme Court Justice in 1993, Ginsburg spent the majority of her career working for organizations such as the National Organization of Women and the ACLU. She also served as a professor at Rutgers University and Columbia University law schools. Ginsberg was a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

In early-February 2009, Ruth Bader Ginsburg underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer. According to reports, Ginsburg's surgeon at New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center expected her to remain hospitalized there for "seven to 10 days." The cancer was believed to be in the "early stages." In 1999, Ginsburg was successfully treated for colon cancer. Ginsburg returned to court 17 days after surgery.KPTM FOX 42 (Omaha, NE): Ginsburg has pancreatic cancerThe Associated Press: Bunning says Justice Ginsburg may die this year (February 23, 2009)

Speaking at the Hardin County Republican Party's Lincoln Day dinner on February 23, 2009, Sen. Jim Bunning stated that Ginsburg has the "bad cancer. The kind that you don't get better from," and he predicted nine-months before the judge succumbs. Bunning has no medical expertise and made the comments within the context of supporting a conservative judge in her place. He later apologized for the comments.KPTM FOX 42 (Omaha, NE): Ginsburg has pancreatic cancerThe Associated Press: Bunning says Justice Ginsburg may die this year (February 23, 2009)

On February 24, 2009, Ginsberg received a standing ovation as she entered for Barack Obama's speech to Congress.