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In
a statement released on Wednesday evening, court spokeswoman
Kathy Arberg said Ginsburg is "doing well and glad to be home"
after being discharged from Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.
Earlier in the day, her participation in two arguments,
conducted by teleconference amid the coronavirus pandemic,
marked the latest instance in which the liberal justice
withstood a health scare and returned swiftly to her duties on
the court, where she has served since 1993. Ginsburg asked a
number of questions and her voice sounded hesitant at times but
largely remained firm.
Ginsburg will return to the Baltimore hospital for outpatient
visits in the following weeks, and a gallstone that caused the
infection will be removed without the need for a surgical
procedure, Arberg added. Ginsburg was treated for pancreatic
cancer last year.
The first case involved an Obamacare requirement regarding
health insurance coverage for women's birth control. The second
involved a federal law cracking down on so-called robocalls.
In the first case, Ginsburg posed lengthy questions expressing
doubt over a bid by President Donald Trump's administration to
implement rules allowing employers to obtain religious
exemptions from the contraception mandate.
She told the administration's lawyer, Solicitor General Noel
Francisco, that it has "tossed entirely to the wind what
Congress considered to be essential, that women be provided this
service, with no hassle and no cost to them."
On Tuesday, Ginsburg was treated for an inflammatory condition
of the gallbladder known as acute cholecystitis.
Her hospitalization could have posed a risk as it comes amid a
pandemic that continues to surge throughout the United States
and around the world. The coronavirus has proven to be
particularly dangerous in elderly people, especially those with
underlying medical issues.
Ginsburg has had several health scares in recent years. In
November 2018, she broke three ribs in a fall. Subsequent
medical tests led to treatment for lung cancer that caused her
to miss arguments in January 2019. She returned to the bench,
but in August 2019 received radiation therapy to treat
pancreatic cancer.
She was hospitalized last November for two nights suffering from
a fever and chills but returned to work at the court the day
after being released.
Her health is closely watched because a Supreme Court vacancy
would give Republican President Donald Trump the opportunity to
appoint a third justice to the nine-member court and move it
further to the right. The court currently has a 5-4 conservative
majority including two justices appointed by Trump.
(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Additional reporting by Andrew
Chung; Editing by Will Dunham and Cynthia Osterman)
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