US Supreme Court judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg has died aged 87

US Supreme Court judge and feminist icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg has died aged 87 from pancreatic cancer

US Supreme Court judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg has died at the age of 87 due to complications from metastatic pancreas cancer.

The public information office of the Supreme Court confirmed she was surrounded by her family at her home in Washington DC.

She announced in July that she was undergoing chemotherapy for lesions on her liver and had been diagnosed with cancer five times previously.

A champion of gender equality and women’s rights, Bader Ginsburg was appointed to the Supreme Court by Bill Clinton in 1993 and was only the second woman in history to hold the position. Throughout her tenure, she provided key votes in landmark rulings securing equal rights for women,  gay rights and protecting abortion rights. She was a major feminist figure throughout her life with young people referring to her as the Notorious RBG.

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In response to the news of her death, President Donald Trump called her “an amazing woman.”

US chief justice John G Roberts, Jr said in a statement: “Our Nation has lost a jurist of historic stature…We at the Supreme Court have lost a cherished colleague. Today we mourn, but with confidence that future generations will remember Ruth Bader Ginsburg as we knew her – a tireless and resolute champion on justice.”

In a statement on Instagram, former US president Barack Obama said Bader Ginsburg “inspired the generations who followed her.”

“Ruth Bader Ginsburg fought to the end, through her cancer, with unwavering faith in our democracy and its ideals”, he said. “That’s how we remember her. But she also left instructions for how she wanted her legacy to be honoured.”

 

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A post shared by Barack Obama (@barackobama) on Sep 18, 2020 at 9:04pm PDT

The Irish Embassy in the US also paid tribute to Bader Ginsburg on Twitter writing, “Ní Bheidh A Leithéid Arís Ann” which translates to “there will never be the likes again.”

Ní Bheidh A Leithéid Arís Ann. pic.twitter.com/VcCDGbnszu

— Embassy of Ireland USA (@IrelandEmbUSA) September 19, 2020

The embassy added: “Our sincere condolences to the family of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a jurist who inspired people across Ireland & the wider world, as in the United States. May she rest in peace.”

Image: Embassy of Ireland USA Twitter

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