Ruth Bader Ginsburg admitted to hospital with ‘benign gallbladder infection’

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US Supreme Court justice and liberal hero Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been admitted to hospital with an infection — but will continue taking part in the court’s arguments by telephone during her stay.

The court announced that Ms Ginsburg, 87, has undergone non-surgical treatment for what it described as acute cholecystitis, a benign gallbladder condition, at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.

Ms Ginsburg initially sought medical care on Monday when the gallstone was first diagnosed, but nonetheless took part in the court’s telephone arguments on Monday and Tuesday. The court said she is resting comfortably, and expects to be in hospital for just a day or two.

She is one of only four reliable liberals among the court’s nine members, and the prospect that her health could fail while Donald Trump still occupies the White House is a recurring nightmare for left-leaning Americans worried about the future of various liberal causes, in particular reproductive rights. The current makeup of the court means only one conservative nominee is needed to tilt it to the right for years or even decades to come.

Ms Ginsburg has been treated four times for cancer, most recently in August last year, when she underwent radiation for a tumour on her pancreas. Her most recent spell in hospital was in November, when she spent two nights at Johns Hopkins after suffering chills and fever.

The justice also bounced back from lung surgery to remove cancerous growths in December 2018. Her recovery from that operation forced her to miss court arguments for the first time since she became a justice in 1993, when she was appointed by then president Bill Clinton.

Ms Ginsburg has said she would like to serve until she is 90, if her health allows.

With Associated Press