Mourning Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

When Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on September 18, so many women didn’t mourn just the loss of an amazing person, but also the loss of a historic fighter for gender equity. Ginsburg worked tirelessly throughout her life to ensure various historically oppressed groups were equal under the law. She was the first justice to officiate a same-sex marriage. She argued six cases before the Supreme Court and won five. She co-founded the first law journal on women’s rights and the Women’s Rights Project at the ACLU — among other notable accomplishments.

The Trump administration moved quickly to capitalize on a now-vacant Supreme Court seat and add a conservative Justice to the court. Just one week after Ginsburg died, Trump’s appointee to RBG’s seat — Amy Coney Barrett, who is pro-life — was leaked to the press. Some Christian extremists celebrated RBG’s death, justifying their reaction with antisemitism and extreme anti-choice rhetoric.

As a public figure, it was inevitable that Ginsburg’s life would be criticized even after it ended. Her decision not to retire during Obama’s tenure was considered controversial by some, and articles questioning her decisions surfaced not even 24 hours after her passing.

But we must be fair in our criticism and offer Ginsburg the dignity and respect she always afforded to others.

Let us not forget that Ginsburg was a champion of reproductive rights. She worked to pass the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978, which prohibited women from being discriminated against for being pregnant and allowed them to build their own savings and make their own financial decisions. Ginsburg also fought against forced sterilization of poor women mostly in the South in the 1970s to ensure that poor women could make reproductive decisions for themselves.

Let us not forget that thanks to Ginsburg, women can sign a mortgage without a man, have the right to have a bank account without a male co-signer, and have the right to work in environments free from gender discrimination. Her work paved the way for women’s financial independence, resulting in President Ford signing the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974 — which made it illegal for creditors to discriminate against applicants for any reason, including sex, race, and marital status.

Let us not forget that Ginsburg opened the doors for women and other oppressed groups, but didn’t build the house. While it is tempting to blame her for the Supreme Court system's flaws, these concerns should not cloud how we remember her and her legacy.

Let us not forget how to mourn. We must properly offer condolences before we have these critical conversations about our democracy. Humanity is the heart of justice. Until we pay our respects to the dead, we cannot fight for the living.