Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a stalwart liberal justice on the US Supreme Court, has died at age 87 due to complications from pancreatic cancer.
Justice Ginsburg died at her home in Washington DC surrounded by her family on Saturday evening (local time), according to a statement released by the US Supreme Court.
The second woman appointed to the US Supreme Court, Justice Ginsburg served for 27 years after being appointed by Bill Clinton in 1993.
Her departure could dramatically alter the ideological balance of the court, which currently has a 5-4 conservative majority.
Justice Ginsburg's death gives US President Donald Trump a chance to expand the court's conservative majority.
She announced in July that she was undergoing chemotherapy treatment for lesions on her liver, the latest of her several battles with cancer.
Justice Ginsburg spent her final years on the bench as the leader of the court's liberal wing.
Especially admired by younger women, she was affectionately known as "the Notorious RBG" for her defence of the rights of women and minorities, along with the strength and resilience she displayed in the face of personal loss and health crises.
Those health issues included five bouts with cancer beginning in 1999, falls that resulted in broken ribs, insertion of a stent to clear a blocked artery and assorted other hospitalisations after she turned 75.
She resisted calls by liberals to retire during Barack Obama's presidency at a time when Democrats held the Senate and a replacement with similar views could have been confirmed.
More to come.
