Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, died due to a long battle of complications with Pancreatic cancer, officials announced yesterday.
Bader Ginsburg’s soul went to rest peacefully in her Washington, DC home in the company of her family.
Barely five feet tall, Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a true giant in her work in advocacy on women’s rights, gay marriage, and the rule of law. As a cultural icon, Ruth Bader Ginsbug was an example of democracy and served a long career on the side of the truth.
“She was the first politician I ever looked up to who I couldn’t find anything wrong with,” said Becky Chariton, 25 of Philadelphia.
While Bader Ginsburg’s death is untimely considering there are only 46 days until the general election, she had been dealing with serious complications to her health for over a year.
Days before her death, Ginsburg told her granddaughter she wanted her replacement to be appointed by the next president, according to NPR.
Her death has evoked fear in the democratic party over who will fill her seat on the bench and what will be the future of the Supreme Court. A lot is at stake for the democrats if Trump decides to replace Justice Ginsburg’s spot and it raises concerns on such topics including healthcare, same-sex marriages, immigration laws, and gun control, to name a few.
“I believe that people are overly anxious and prematurely worried about who will fill her position– it does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that they will want to bring someone in who is against abortion; that is a big issue” said Dr. Felicia Hamilton, Obstetrics and Gynecology specialist in Washington, DC. “We won’t know anything until we know who the new Justice is and figure out what and how they have ruled on prior cases.”
Shortly after Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death, Sen. Mitch McConnel announced that there will be a vote on President Trump’s nominee to replace the Supreme Justice’s seat. Donald Trump has not announced his nominees but has a list of candidates he thinks could serve the title including GOP Senator Ted Cruz.
While there is a surge of enthusiasm on both sides of the political parties, there is an extensive vetting process that needs to happen before a new Supreme Court Justice can be approved. Individual meetings between the nominee and each Senator could stretch until well after the election.
“We have to go against taking the high road. Trump and the GOP will play dirty. We need to beat them at their own game and fight for the betterment of everyone,” said Kaitlin Manion, student program coordinator at University of the Arts.
If there are any decisions made prior to the election, Democrats will not be happy as it would contradict the Republicans decision to block former President Obama’s nomination to fill Justice Scalia’s position prior to the 2016 election.
Just hours after the news of her death, the democratic online donations took in $20 million in donations. The outpour of donations came after McConnel’s announcement and shows a true testament to how this election may play out.
“This will be a true test to see if the Republicans will put their money where their mouth is,” said Becky Chariton.