Remembering RBG: The Pioneer of Equal Rights
Written by Kole Kemple
On the morning of September 18th 2020, millions of Americans woke to the news that Supreme Court judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg (RBG) had passed away due to her ongoing battle with pancreatic cancer at the age of 87. For millions, RBG was more than just a member of the Supreme Court; she was one of the leading members in the fight for their rights. During her life, RBG fought tirelessly for equal rights among all people, most notably for women’s right and LGBTQ+ rights, paving the way for what she hoped would be a more equal future.
US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
It is without a doubt that RBG’s contributions to the United States government are among some of the most impactful in the nation’s history. RBG was a foundational member in the gender equality movement, supporting and passing various laws regarding gender equality, along with fighting to protect Roe v. Wade, which fought to keep abortion legal.
RBG was as bold as her policies and never let anyone or anything keep her from making her beliefs vocalized. Even up until her battle with cancer, RBG had been pushing and pushing for equal rights among all American citizens. Her death brings the death unto one of the most important positions in the U.S. government as well.
With the death of RBG, President Trump is now able to appoint a new republican justice to the Supreme Court, outnumbering the democrats from 6 to 3. Before her passing, RBG shared that her final wish was for the government to wait until after the upcoming presidential election to appoint a new justice to the Supreme Court; however, head of the Supreme Court, Mitch McConnell, immediately dismissed her wish, instead seeing her death as a political advantage. With the chance of a new republican justice in the Supreme Court, the G.O.P. would have the potential to reverse critical policies, such as the legalization of women’s abortion rights, along with the legalization of same-sex marriage, completely erasing all of RBG’s work from the U.S. government.
While many republican citizens of the U.S. chose to ignorantly celebrate the death of RBG, many other citizens took the time to mourn and remember the life of RBG. Though the G.O.P. may be trying to erase RBG’s work, they will never be able to erase her memory and the impact she has had on the world.
“I would just like people to think of me as a judge who did the best she could with whatever limited talent I had to keep our country true to what makes it a great nation and to make things a little better than they might have been if I hadn’t been there.” -RBG