ACLU Statement on Passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

NEW YORK — Following reports of the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero issued the following statement:

“Few individuals have had such a dramatic and lasting effect on a particular area of law as Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who directed the work of the ACLU Women’s Rights Project from its founding in 1972 until her appointment to the federal bench in 1980.

“During the 1970s, Ginsburg led the ACLU in a host of important legal battles, many before the Supreme Court, that established the foundation for the current legal prohibitions against sex discrimination in this country and helped lay the groundwork for future women’s rights advocacy. By 1974, the Women’s Rights Project and ACLU affiliates had participated in over 300 sex discrimination cases; between 1969 and 1980, the ACLU participated in 66 percent of gender discrimination cases decided by the Supreme Court.

“In 1981, President Carter appointed Ginsburg to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. In 1993, Ruth Bader Ginsburg became the second woman to be a Justice on the Supreme Court.

“In her honor we will be dedicating the ACLU Center for Liberty as the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Liberty Center.

“She leaves a country changed because of her life’s work.”