Ruth Bader Ginsburg Joins SCOTUS Obamacare Arguments from Hospital Bed

Ruth Bader Ginsburg mural on U Street NW, Washington, DC USA - Artist Rose Jaffe IG:Rose_I
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A hospitalized Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg participated in Wednesday’s court arguments by teleconference one day after receiving non-surgical treatment.

Ginsburg spoke from her hospital bed at Johns Hopkins University as the high court heard arguments regarding Obamacare’s requirement that women be provided access to no-cost contraceptives.

On Tuesday evening, the Supreme Court said Ginsburg underwent a procedure to treat a benign gallbladder condition earlier in the day and was resting comfortably.

“Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg underwent non-surgical treatment for acute cholecystitis, a benign gallbladder condition, this afternoon at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland,” the Supreme Court said in a statement. “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.”

In late November, Ginsburg was hospitalized at Johns Hopkins Hospital for two nights with the chills and a fever.

Ginsburg — often referred to as the “notorious RBG” in Democrat circles — has had multiple health issues in recent years. The justice broke three of her ribs in a fall in November 2018 and underwent lung cancer surgery in December 2018. She received radiation treatment for pancreatic cancer in August.

Ginsburg has also survived colorectal cancer in 1999 and pancreatic cancer in 2009.

Despite ongoing speculation of her possible retirement, Ginsburg signaled last summer that she has no plans to leave the bench.

President Jimmy Carter appointed Ginsburg to the U.S. Court of Appeals in 1980 and President Bill Clinton appointed her to the Supreme Court in 1993.

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