Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospitalized for Possible Infection

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 12: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg arrives to delive
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Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was hospitalized early Tuesday morning for a possible infection, court spokesperson Kathleen Arberg announced.

The 87-year-old Ginsburg is “resting comfortably” following treatment at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. The justice is said to have experienced fever and chills and later had a bile duct stent cleaned. She’s expected to remain hospitalized for a “few days.”

“Justice Ginsburg was admitted to The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland early this morning for treatment of a possible infection,” Arberg said in a statement. “She was initially evaluated at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C. last night after experiencing fever and chills. She underwent an endoscopic procedure at Johns Hopkins this afternoon to clean out a bile duct stent that was placed last August. The Justice is resting comfortably and will stay in the hospital for a few days to receive intravenous antibiotic treatment.”

In May, Ginsburg was hospitalized with an infection caused by a gallstone and underwent non-surgical treatment for acute cholecystitis. Days later, the justice participated in the court’s telephone arguments.

The court’s oldest justice has been in the hospital twice since November because of infections. She also received outpatient radiation treatment in New York in August for a tumor on her pancreas.

Ginsburg has twice been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and also had lung surgery in December 2018 to remove cancerous growths. She underwent surgery for colorectal cancer in 1999.

Ginsburg has been on the court since 1993, appointed by President Bill Clinton. Only Justice Clarence Thomas has served longer among the current members of the court.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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