Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes First Public Appearance Since Surgery

The outing was the Supreme Court justice's first public appearance since her successful cancer surgery in December.
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Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg made her first public appearance since her cancer surgery in December, and it was for a program in her honor.

Ginsburg attended a production Monday night of “Notorious RBG in Song” at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C. The production was designed to celebrate the 85-year-old’s life and career, and was performed by her soprano daughter-in-law, Patrice Michaels. Michaels did not announce Ginsburg’s attendance, according to The Washington Post.

The justice underwent a pulmonary lobectomy Dec. 21 for cancerous nodules in her left lung. The weeks-long recovery process caused Ginsburg to miss a round of oral arguments before the court last month, her first absence since she was appointed to the high court in 1993. SCOTUSblog co-founder Amy Howe said at the time that Ginsburg “is working from home & can still participate in today’s cases based on the transcripts and briefs.”

Ginsburg has had several medical procedures in the past decade and is a pancreatic cancer survivor. The justice fractured two ribs in 2012 and had a stent placed in her right coronary artery in 2014.

The Supreme Court announced Jan. 11 that Ginsburg’s recovery is “on track.”

“Post-surgery evaluation indicates no evidence of remaining disease, and no further treatment is required,” court spokeswoman Kathleen Arberg said in a statement.

Although Ginsburg made an appearance at the production Monday, it’s likely she’ll skip President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday. The justice did not attend either of Trump’s previous addresses.

The Supreme Court next meets in public session Feb. 19.

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