The Supreme Court announced that the cause of death for Ginsburg was complications of metastatic pancreatic cancer. Despite battling various health issues over the years, including colon cancer in 1999, early-stage pancreatic cancer in 2009, and a blocked artery in 2014, Ginsburg maintained a tough demeanor. Despite her small stature and frail appearance, she was known for her dedication to regular workouts with a trainer, who even published a book about their challenging exercise routine. As Ginsburg turned 80 years old and celebrated her 20th year on the Supreme Court bench during President Barack Obama's second term, she ignored numerous calls for her retirement to allow a Democratic president to choose her successor. She intended to remain in her position for as long as she could perform her duties effectively, expressing optimism about the future leadership of the country. Being the only woman on the Supreme Court after Justice Sandra Day O'Connor retired in 2006 was a challenging period for Ginsburg, who had worked to advance the legal standing of women throughout her career. The addition of two more female justices, Sonia Sotomayor in 2009 and Elena Kagan in 2010, helped to improve the representation of women on the Court. Following the retirement of Justice John Paul Stevens in 2010, Ruth Bader Ginsburg became the senior member and de facto leader of a liberal bloc on the Supreme Court, consisting of herself, two other female justices, and Justice Stephen Breyer. Without a fifth vote, often provided by Justice Anthony Kennedy before his retirement in 2018, the four justices were frequently in dissent on the ideologically divided court. Ginsburg's dissenting opinions, which often spoke for the group, gained attention as the court moved further to the right. A law student named Shana Knizhnik famously dubbed her the Notorious RBG, in reference to the rapper Notorious BIG, who was also from Brooklyn like Ginsburg. Ruth Bader Ginsburg's name and image, featuring her serene yet severe expression, frilly lace collar, oversize glasses, and gold crown, quickly became popular on the internet. This occurred during her Supreme Court confirmation hearings in Washington on July 21, 1993. Young women got tattoos of her image, daughters dressed as RBG for Halloween, and merchandise with slogans like "You Can't Spell Truth Without Ruth" became popular. Biographies about her, such as "Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg" by Irin Carmon and Knizhnik, became bestsellers. A documentary and a Hollywood biopic were also successful in showcasing her life and accomplishments. The admiration for Ruth Bader Ginsburg increased significantly following the election of Donald Trump, especially after she called him "a faker" during the 2016 presidential campaign. Despite later admitting that her comment was "ill advised," Ginsburg became a symbol of hope for many women seeking models of female influence, authenticity, dignity, and voice. Back in 1993, when President Bill Clinton nominated her for the Supreme Court, some feminist leaders were concerned about her close relationships with conservative colleagues. However, her Senate confirmation in a landslide vote marked the end of a long period without Democratic appointments to the Court. There was a certain appropriateness in that series of events, as Ruth Ginsburg was sometimes likened to the Thurgood Marshall of the women's rights movement due to her strategic approach and selection of cases as she worked to convince the all-male Supreme Court to recognize the constitutional prohibition against sex discrimination in the 1970s. Just as Thurgood Marshall had been the chief legal strategist in the fight against racial segregation, Ginsburg had argued cases that became important legal precedents before taking her place on the Supreme Court in 1993. She brought six cases to the court between 1973 and 1978 and won five of them. Her aim was to convince the Supreme Court that the 14th Amendment's guarantee of equal protection should apply to sex discrimination in addition to racial discrimination. This was a difficult task, as the Supreme Court under Chief Justice Earl Warren had never recognized sex discrimination as a constitutional issue. The Supreme Court under Chief Justice Warren Burger, appointed by President Richard Nixon in 1969, was not expected to be any more welcoming. Ruth Bader Ginsburg presided over a mock trial of Shylock following a performance of "The Merchant of Venice" in Venice, Italy on July 27, 2016. Ginsburg believed she needed to educate an audience that didn't understand rather than oppose her, focusing on laws that were meant to protect women but were based on stereotypes of male and female abilities. In a 1988 speech, she highlighted how male justices didn't see the differential treatment of men and women in legal contexts as burdensome to women, as they likely treated their own wives and daughters well. In order to change course, the court needed to realize that laws meant to support or protect women could actually have negative consequences. This was demonstrated by successful legal challenges against discriminatory laws in Idaho, the military, and Social Security. These cases highlighted the unfair preference given to men over women in various situations, ultimately leading to changes in the law. One such case involved Stephen Wiesenfeld, a man who sought survivor benefits after his wife's death in childbirth so he could raise their child. Following her success in the Supreme Court case, Ginsburg maintained a relationship with the father and child involved. In 1998, she traveled to Florida to help officiate the wedding of the child, Jason. In 2014, Ginsburg presided over the second marriage of her former client at the Supreme Court, 42 years after the death of Paula Wiesenfeld. Although she did not argue the case personally, Ginsburg was involved in the 1976 case of Craig v. Boren, where the Supreme Court established that official distinctions based on sex would be subject to "heightened scrutiny" from the courts. This case involved striking down an Oklahoma law that allowed girls to buy beer at 18 while boys had to wait until they were 21. The specific question in Craig v. Boren may not have seemed significant, but the constitutional implications of the ruling were substantial. Even though the court did not initially adopt Ginsburg's "strict scrutiny" rule, they did eventually embrace the idea that the 14th Amendment guarantees equal protection for both sexes. In a 1996 case involving the Virginia Military Institute, Ginsburg announced the court's majority opinion declaring the all-male admissions policy unconstitutional. Virginia had argued that their method of educating young men was not suitable for women, but the court disagreed. In United States v. Virginia, Ginsburg stated that the state had not provided a sufficient justification for treating men and women differently. She emphasized that women deserving of a VMI-quality education should not be offered anything less in terms of equal protection under the law. Ginsburg clarified that while there are inherent differences between men and women, these should not be used to limit opportunities or perpetuate inequality. She believed her decision would improve VMI when she visited the institute in 2018. On June 26, 1996, Ginsburg spoke about a moment during her delivery of the opinion in the VMI case that had a deeper meaning, not easily noticeable to the audience in the courtroom. She recounted this moment in a speech the following year at the Women's Bar Association in Washington, DC. In this speech, she described how she had looked at her colleague, O'Connor, during the proceedings. O'Connor, who was the first woman on the Supreme Court, had previously written a majority opinion that influenced the VMI decision by challenging traditional gender roles. Ginsburg's opinion in the VMI case also referenced O'Connor's earlier opinion in the Mississippi University for Women v. Hogan case from 1982, showing how their legal precedents intertwined. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and her colleagues Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia, Sandra Day O'Connor, and John Paul Stevens left the Supreme Court building to participate in the casket procession of Chief Justice William Rehnquist in Washington on September 6, 2005. The New York Times reported that O'Connor and Ginsburg, who were close in age with O'Connor being the elder, were part of the first group of women to break into the male-dominated legal profession. O'Connor faced difficulties finding work after graduating from Stanford Law School, while Ginsburg, one of only nine women in her Harvard Law School class, excelled academically and was recommended for a prestigious clerkship by one of her professors. The professor, Albert Sacks, who later became dean of the law school, wrote to Frankfurter, a former Harvard law professor, praising the exceptional composure and qualities of mind and person of the star student, suggesting she would be a great law clerk for him. Despite Justice Frankfurter never having hired a woman before, he declined to interview her. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and her fellow justices Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia, Sandra Day O'Connor and John Paul Stevens left the Supreme Court building for the casket procession of Chief Justice William Rehnquist in Washington on Sept 6, 2005. Despite their differing views on important areas of the court's docket, such as affirmative action and federalism, and their different backgrounds - one the daughter of Southwestern ranchers and the other the Brooklyn-born daughter of Russian Jews - the common life experiences of the two women created a bond that appeared to strengthen over time. Ruth Bader's father, Nathan Bader, immigrated to New York with his family at the age of 13, while her mother, the former Celia Amster, was born shortly after her family's arrival. Ruth, originally named Joan Ruth and known as Kiki in her childhood, was born on March 15, 1933. She grew up in Brooklyn's Flatbush neighborhood as essentially an only child, as her older sister passed away from meningitis when Ruth was just 14 months old. The family owned small retail stores, such as a fur store and a hat shop, but money was always tight. Ruth's mother, Celia Bader, was intellectually ambitious and graduated from high school at 15, though she was unable to attend college. Instead, her family sent her to work in Manhattan's garment district so her brother could go to Cornell University. She had great hopes for her daughter, but unfortunately, she passed away before seeing them come to fruition. Diagnosed with cervical cancer when Ruth was a freshman in high school, she died at 47 in 1950, the day before her daughter's graduation. Ruth's teachers brought her awards and medals after the ceremony she could not attend. During her Supreme Court nomination announcement with Clinton in the Rose Garden on June 14, 1993, Ginsburg moved the president to tears with a touching tribute to her mother, expressing her desire to fulfill the dreams her mother had for her. Ruth Bader received a scholarship to attend Cornell University, where she met Martin Ginsburg during her freshman year. She was drawn to him because he was the first boy she had met who appreciated her intelligence. They became engaged during her junior year and got married after she graduated in 1954. Their relationship was characterized by both romance and intellectual partnership throughout their lives. Despite their differences in personalities - with her being reserved and thoughtful in her words, while he was lively and humorous - their strong bond and dedication to their family and careers as a team were evident to those who knew them. Martin Ginsburg supported his wife, a successful tax lawyer, by giving up his own lucrative law practice in New York to move to Washington with her in 1980 when she was appointed to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit by President Jimmy Carter. Thirteen years later, he strongly advocated for her appointment to the Supreme Court behind the scenes. After moving to Washington, Martin Ginsburg taught tax law at Georgetown University’s law school. He held a position that was established by a grateful client, Ross Perot, in recognition of the tax advice that had saved him a significant amount of money. Additionally, he was a skilled chef who prepared meals for the family and baked treats for his wife to bring to her colleagues at the court. Ruth Ginsburg, on the other hand, admitted to being a poor cook and was banned from the kitchen by her children. The Ginsburgs resided in a duplex apartment at the Watergate, near the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, where they frequently enjoyed the opera and ballet. After 56 years of marriage, he passed away from cancer in 2010 at the age of 78. Prior to his death, he left a handwritten note on a yellow pad for his wife to discover beside his bed. The note began with "My dearest Ruth," expressing his love and admiration for her throughout their lives, noting her impressive rise to the top of the legal world since they first met at Cornell. Their two children, Jane and James, are alive. Jane is a professor at Columbia Law School, while James produces classical music in Chicago. They also have four grandchildren. After getting married, they moved to Lawton, Oklahoma, where Martin Ginsburg, who had been in the ROTC during college, was going to serve as an Army officer at Fort Sill for two years. Ruth Ginsburg applied for a job at the Social Security office but was offered a position as a claims examiner at the Civil Service rank of GS-5. However, when she disclosed that she was pregnant with her first child, Jane, the offer was rescinded because a pregnant woman could not travel for training. She took on a clerk-typist position at the GS-2 level, a lowly rank, and initially accepted it as the norm. It wasn't until years later that Ruth Ginsburg would dedicate herself to challenging the societal norms that restricted women's opportunities. Early in their marriage, while both attending Harvard Law School, Ruth and Martin Ginsburg faced a serious challenge when Martin was diagnosed with testicular cancer during his third year. The prognosis was grim, and he struggled to attend classes due to his illness. Other classmates took notes for him, and Ruth Ginsburg, despite attending class and caring for their young daughter, transcribed the notes and assisted him with studying. He eventually recovered and graduated on schedule. The environment at Harvard Law School was difficult for women, especially during Ruth Ginsburg's time there. There were no female faculty members, and during her first year, the dean, Erwin Griswold, questioned the nine women in the class about why they believed they deserved to be there instead of a man. Ruth hesitated as she explained that she wanted to understand her husband's work as a lawyer, so she asked Harvard officials if she could finish her final year at Columbia and still receive a Harvard degree. Her request was denied, so she transferred to Columbia and graduated at the top of her class. In 1972, she became the first woman to receive tenure at Columbia Law School. Years later, Harvard changed its policy and would now award a Harvard degree to students in similar situations. Martin Ginsburg jokingly asked Ruth if she planned to exchange her Columbia degree for a Harvard degree. "She simply smiled." In 2011, Harvard University awarded Ruth Ginsburg an honorary degree alongside Plácido Domingo. The opera-loving Ginsburg described this experience as one of the greatest in her life. Following her graduation from Columbia, Ginsburg struggled to find job offers from New York law firms and instead clerked for federal district judge Edmund L Palmieri for two years. This opportunity came about after her mentor, Professor Gerald Gunther, intervened. After her clerkship, Ginsburg went back to Columbia to work on a project regarding civil procedure. The project necessitated that she acquire Swedish language skills and reside in Sweden for a period of time. This experience was influential for her. Sweden was experiencing a strong wave of feminism, with women seamlessly balancing work and family responsibilities. Childcare services were easily accessible. Ruth Ginsburg was intrigued by an article written by the editor of a feminist publication. Eva Moberg, the editor, expressed the need to move away from the idea of women having two roles and emphasized that both men and women share the primary role of being human beings. Ruth Ginsburg's significant academic work on Swedish civil law from 1963 to 1970, as well as her observations of a different societal structure during her time in Sweden, had a profound impact on her. Despite facing rejection from prestigious law schools, she eventually became the second woman to teach at Rutgers Law School, where there were only a few women teaching in all American law schools at the time. During this time, her second child, James, who was nine years younger than his sister, was born. Along with her teaching job, she began volunteering to handle discrimination cases for the New Jersey chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. These cases included complaints from public-school teachers who were fired due to pregnancy. Melvin Wulf, a childhood friend who was the national legal director for the ACLU, learned about her work and started referring more cases to her. One of these cases was the Idaho estate administrators case, which later became her first Supreme Court victory in Reed v. Reed. Her 88-page brief in that case, detailing how the legal system reinforced the oppression of women in society, became known as the "grandmother brief" and was a resource for feminist lawyers for many years. In 1972, the ACLU established a Women’s Rights Project and selected Ruth Ginsburg as its inaugural director. Concurrently, she transitioned from Rutgers to Columbia University for teaching. While leading the ACLU project, she developed a Supreme Court litigation plan to convince the justices that gender-based discrimination by the government was a violation of the Constitution. The significance of this approach was not immediately obvious, even to those closely observing her work. Ruth Ginsburg was notably focusing on cases where men were the victims of unequal treatment by the government. She wanted to challenge the notion that men should be treated less generously than women just because of their gender. Ruth Ginsburg aimed to liberate both men and women from societal expectations and use the Constitution to dismantle the structures that enforced separate gender roles. By presenting a widowed father seeking social welfare to care for his child as a plaintiff, she hoped to show the court that childcare should not be limited to women based on gender. Wendy W Williams, a retired professor of law at Georgetown University Law Centre and Ginsburg’s authorized biographer, explained in a 2013 article that Ginsburg's legal efforts were successful in challenging the legal system that reinforced traditional gender roles. Williams pointed out that Ginsburg recognized the deep-rooted belief of male and female as natural opposites in law and society, and knew that this could not be easily changed. Ginsburg believed that both men and women suffered from sex discrimination, and she aimed to achieve sex equality for all. Professor Neil S Siegel of Duke Law School described Ginsburg's vision as one of equal citizenship status. Despite her reputation as a liberal, Ginsburg was known for forming alliances with conservative judges on the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. She believed in judicial restraint and collaboration with other branches of government, rather than imposing final decisions without room for debate. This approach also led her to criticize the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade, which established the right to abortion. During a speech at New York University Law School in 1993, shortly before her Supreme Court nomination, she criticized the ruling for stopping a reform-minded political process and causing prolonged division and delayed resolution of the issue. Despite expressing her support for abortion rights, she suggested that the court should have issued a more limited ruling, allowing states to regulate abortions without banning them entirely. She warned that the court should avoid making drastic decisions that could provoke a strong backlash. Contrary to Ginsburg's beliefs, evidence showed that progress towards revising or repealing old abortion laws had stalled due to lobbying from the Catholic Church. The backlash against the decision was not spontaneous, but rather orchestrated by Republican strategists seeking support from Catholic voters. Despite questions about the accuracy of her narrative, Ginsburg continued to criticize the decision. Her speech at NYU caused concern among some women's groups and abortion rights organizations, leading to quiet lobbying against her when White announced his retirement from the court. In his first nomination to the court, Clinton conducted a highly public search for potential candidates, including Mario Cuomo and Bruce Babbitt. It seemed he had chosen Stephen G. Breyer, but after a poor interview due to Breyer's broken ribs, Clinton's opinion changed. Martin Ginsburg urged Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan to advocate for Ruth Ginsburg, despite Clinton's initial reluctance. After a private meeting with Ruth Ginsburg, Clinton ultimately decided to nominate her. He phoned her at 11:33 that evening to inform her that she was his selection. The next day at the announcement ceremony, Clinton stated, "I believe that in the years to come she will be able to promote consensus-building on the Supreme Court, just as she has on the Court of Appeals." The nomination was widely popular with the public, and she was confirmed on Aug. 3, 1993, despite the opposing votes of three conservative Republicans in the Senate. When speaking to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Ginsburg emphasized that her judicial approach was not strictly liberal or conservative. She made it clear that she fully supported the right to abortion, despite her criticisms of Roe v. Wade, calling it a fundamental aspect of a woman's life and dignity. It is a decision that she must make for herself. When the government controls that decision for her, she is being treated as less than a fully adult human responsible for her own choices. In a dissenting opinion in Gonzales v Carhart, Ruth Bader Ginsburg criticized the majority's reasoning for upholding a federal law criminalizing a particular abortion procedure during the second trimester. She argued that the majority's rationale relied on an unsubstantiated belief that women regret their abortions, reflecting outdated ideas about women's role in society and the Constitution. The court's decision in the case of Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co, where Lilly Ledbetter's pay discrimination claim was rejected due to not being filed within the 180-day deadline, led to another strong dissent. Justice Alito's majority opinion stated that the 180-day clock started when Ledbetter received her first paycheck reflecting the pay discrepancy. However, Justice Ginsburg disagreed, arguing that the 180-day period should begin when the employee becomes aware of the discrimination. She urged Congress to clarify this issue, emphasizing that it was their responsibility to do so. Ginsburg's direct call to Congress was notable as she announced her dissent from the bench, drawing attention to the importance of the issue. The disagreement over a statute of limitations turned into a public outcry and ultimately led Congress to overturn the court's narrow interpretation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was the first bill signed into law by President Obama on Jan. 29, 2009, in response to Justice Ginsburg's efforts. Professor Lani Guinier of Harvard Law School observed that Ginsburg was appealing to the public in her actions. Guinier characterized oral dissent as a way to make judicial speech more accessible to the public. Ginsburg, known for her meticulous approach to crafting opinions, paid equal attention to majority opinions and dissents. Her writing style was clear and free of unnecessary complexity, influenced in part by studying literature with Nabokov. However, it was her dissenting opinions, often announced in court, that garnered the most recognition. To signal her dissent, she would switch the decorative collars she wore with her robe on those days. She even wore her "dissenting collar," described by one observer as resembling medieval armor, the day after Trump's election. One of her most well-known dissents occurred in 2013 in Shelby County v. Holder, where the majority invalidated a provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, requiring certain jurisdictions to receive federal permission before changing voting procedures. Ginsburg questioned the court's usual restraint and referenced conservative calls for judicial restraint. She concluded by quoting a civil rights leader, expressing disappointment in the decision. One of her favorite majority opinions, out of roughly 200, was in a 1996 case called MLB v. SLJ, dealing with the right of a parent to appeal a court decree terminating parental rights. The Supreme Court of Mississippi decided that the state was not required to pay for the necessary record for an appeal to proceed. The Constitution does not typically grant affirmative rights, but Justice Ginsburg based her decision on protecting parental rights as fundamental, despite previous Supreme Court precedents. Professor Martha Minow praised Ginsburg's opinion in the case MLB v SLJ as extraordinary. In a 2017 decision, the court addressed the unequal treatment of unwed mothers and fathers seeking to transmit American citizenship to their children born overseas under federal immigration law. According to the law, mothers could pass on their American citizenship if they had lived in the United States for at least one year, while fathers had to have lived in the US for five years. The law was based on the assumption that mothers were more readily identifiable as parents compared to fathers, who were less likely to take responsibility for their children born out of wedlock. In Sessions v. Morales-Santana, Ginsburg, writing for a 6-2 majority, declared the law unconstitutional for violating equal protection. She criticized the sex-based distinction as outdated and reflective of outdated stereotypes about men and women. Ginsburg highlighted the impact of such generalizations on people's lives and emphasized the need to challenge them. She attributed the success of her 1970s litigation campaign to being in the right place with the right arguments at the right time. In the preface to her book "My Own Words," published in 2016, she expressed gratitude for being alive and working as a lawyer during a time when advocating for gender equality became a successful endeavor in the United States. Despite acknowledging her significant role in this movement, she also recognized the broader societal shifts that influenced judges to recognize the importance of equal citizenship for women and men. In a 1997 article, she reflected on the factors that led to the courts' evolving understanding of gender equality, pointing to the influence of public discourse and personal experiences within the judiciary. Ginsburg was known for her meticulous approach to both her appearance and her legal work. She had her dark hair pulled back and preferred finely tailored suits by designer Giorgio Armani, occasionally adding flamboyantly patterned jackets from her travels. Despite being recognized as one of the best-dressed women, she was a quiet presence in social situations, often letting her outgoing husband do the talking. While she may have come across as shy and withdrawn to those who didn't know her well, she would light up when discussing her passion for opera. It was hard to believe that she was once a high school cheerleader and twirler, as she moved with such precision and purpose. There was not a clear distinction between the two sides of her personality, rather her natural shyness disappeared when she had a task to complete. Before her first Supreme Court argument, she was extremely nervous and couldn't eat lunch for fear of getting sick. However, once the argument began, her fear disappeared as she felt empowered by the attention of the powerful judges.