I wanted to reflect on some of the ways that her civil rights work has made life more equitable for women and girls. Even before she joined the Supreme Court in 1993 and established important precedents and decisions regarding reproductive rights, she co-founded the Women’s Rights Project at the ACLU, an initiative that was devoted entirely to gender equality. She fought fiercely to make sure women’s rights were seen as an essential part of human rights. She may not have gone into law school intending to fight gender discrimination, but her experiences as one of only nine women at Harvard Law School in 1956, being turned down for law jobs despite graduating tied for first place in her class from Columbia Law, and facing unequal pay for equal work while serving as faculty at Rutgers Law School in 1963 set the stage for laws she would help create and cases she would bring to justice.
During her time on the Women’s Rights Project with the ACLU, Ginsburg pushed to have pregnancy discrimination recognized as a form of sex discrimination, fighting against an Air Force policy in 1972 that automatically discharged pregnant officers unless they terminated their pregnancy. Ruth Bader Ginsburg believed that, "The decision whether or not to bear a child is central to a woman's life, to her well-being and dignity. It is a decision she must make for herself. When the government controls that decision for her, she is being treated as less than a full adult human responsible for her own choices." In cases such as Whole Woman’s Health v Hellerstedt (2016) and June Medical Services v Russo (2020) she reinforced the essential nature of abortion and reproductive care as part of healthcare and protective of women’s bodily autonomy and equal status as citizens in this country. She expressed in multiple dissents the need for separation of church and state with regard to contraception coverage, a logical response since numerous studies show decreases in STIs, teen pregnancy, and abortions with comprehensive sexual health education and access to contraception over abstinence only education and restrictions placed on access to contraception and abortion. Ginsburg paved the way for women to obtain financial independence through the Equal Credit Opportunity Act passed in 1974, having downstream effects of everything from decreasing their risk for being trapped in abusive relationships to realizing their talents and dreams. Finally, she helped the world see that sex discrimination is damaging for both men and women through representing Charles Moritz in 1968, ultimately proving that men are entitled to the same caregiving and social security rights as women.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg made space for women to be in all places where decisions are being made building on the work of other trailblazing women before her, and I am grateful for all the ways that she has shaped my ability to be in my final year of medical school irrespective of my sex. In medical school, we learn about social determinants of health and how they affect our patient’s wellbeing and overall physical and mental health. Societies inequalities, gender based discrimination included, have many implications on health and I am happy to continue working toward gender equality alongside the generations of feminists Ruth Bader Ginsburg has inspired.
Anna Braginskaya M.D. Candidate, Class of 2021 Drexel University College of Medicine
