Ruth Bader Ginsburg is Hospitalized for the Second Time this Month
After recently announcing that she has been undergoing chemotherapy for a recurrence of cancer, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is in the hospital for the second time this month, this time for a “minimally invasive nonsurgical procedure.”
“Justice Ginsburg underwent a minimally invasive non-surgical procedure today at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City to revise a bile duct stent that was originally placed at Sloan Kettering in August 2019,” read a statement from the court released Wednesday evening.
“According to her doctors, stent revisions are common occurrences and the procedure, performed using endoscopy and medical imaging guidance, was done to minimize the risk of future infection,” the statement said. “The Justice is resting comfortably and expects to be released from the hospital by the end of the week.”
The health of the 87-year-old four-time cancer survivor is the subject of widespread interest as Senate Republicans have promised to try to fill any Court vacancies that arise, even in the final days of President Trump’s first term.
Ginsburg has been hospitalized several times in recent months.
Two weeks ago Ginsburg said her cancer had returned and that a scan in February revealed lesions on her liver. Her announcement came after being treated for a possible infection at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore after having a fever and chills. She underwent an “endoscopic procedure to clean out a bile duct stent that was placed last August,” the court said then.
She has been receiving bi-weekly chemotherapy “to keep my cancer at bay.”
“Immunotherapy first essayed proved unsuccessful. The chemotherapy course, however, is yielding positive results,” she said, maintaining that she is “fully able” to continue her post.
Ginsburg has continued serving on the Court, even in light of her health issues. In May, she heard oral arguments by telephone in her hospital room while recovering from a benign gallbladder condition.
