It was my mom who first told me of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s passing, I was having dinner with a friend at the time. The moment I heard she had passed felt like the world caved in, not only because we lost a pioneer of equality, but also the fear of what was to come next. Ruth Bader Ginsberg was not a perfect political figure, but her work for paving the beginning roads to a more diverse and equal future are not to be forgotten any time soon. From the September 19th Women’s march, to the various heartfelt tributes from fellow political figures, her intelligence and her fiery spirit have touched the lives of individuals everywhere who are ready to pick up where she left off.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg had several highlights in her 27 year run in the Supreme Court, listed below are a few in more detail:
In 1993 Bill Clinton first appointed her to the Supreme Court. This made Ginsburg the second woman ever to serve and the first Jewish woman. A notable moment from the night she was appointed is that she declined to answer questions regarding her view on several potential “controversial” topics. Instead Ginsburg argued she was here to be open-minded and to keep her integrity as a judge.
In 1996 she was a leading voice in deciding the United States v. Virginia case. The Virginia Military Institute (VMI) at the time was the final remaining all-male public college. When the U.S. filed a suit against VMI saying the admission process violated the Equal Protection Clause, VMI fought back saying their training was far too intense for women. Ginsburg wrote the majority opinion for this case stating “generalizations about ‘the way women are,’ estimates of what is appropriate for most women, no longer justify denying opportunity to women whose talent and capacity place them outside the average description.”
Another highlight of course is her stance on granting same-sex couples thr right to marry in all 50 sates. Fun fact, Ginsberg has long been a supporter for the LGBTQ community, she used to officiate same-sex weddings! She was not afraid to be outspoken with her belief, her outspokenness helped to gain the trust of the public in this choice as well. She was unafraid to challenge her fellow Justices John Roberts and Anthony Kennedy on their stances. Famously one of the arguments was the idea of how these same-sex couples could not ‘procreate’ (side note, there are so many ways for LGBTQ couples to start a family if they wish to do so). Ginsburg fought this ridiculous reasoning by pointing out that if a 70-year-old heterosexual couple wished to be married they would be allowed to do so even though they couldn’t ‘procreate.’ In 2015 same sex marriage was legalized in a 5-4 vote.
In 2014 Ginsburg participated in the case Burwell v. Hobby Lobby. The company Hobby Lobby was attempting to sue the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services for violating the First Amendment on the ground of religious freedom. Hobby Lobby did not wish to supply birth control as part of their company’s insurance plan, citing their religious roots as the reason. While this case ended up being a win for Hobby Lobby in a 5-4 vote, Ginsberg wrote a passionate dissent arguing the importance of birth control for women and how it can actually lead to lower unwanted pregnancies and lower abortion rates. She accused the new rule of harming female employees’ health.
Another big win for Ginsburg was in 2018 in the case of Sessions v. Dimaya in 2018, Ginsberg argued to fight legislation that allowed for some non-citizens to be expelled from the country. One of the reasons this case is notable is because Ginsburg got to select who would write the majority opinion since she was now the senior most Justice in the majority for this case. Throughout the history of the Supreme Court, only six other times had a woman been the one to assign the majority opinion. Ginsburg chose to assign it to Elena Kagan.
Throughout her career Ginsburg did everything she could to protect those who didn’t have a voice for their rights. She worked with poise, compassion and dignity. Truly a bad-a** to the end, Ginsburg’s infamous nickname ‘notorious RBG’ suits her well. All we can do now is protect her work and her legacy by also carrying ourselves with the same empathy and intelligence as her.