text: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg fell in her office and fractured three ribs. The 85-year-old liberal justice was admitted to a hospital Thursday. 
   
   Ginsburg's health has been a matter of intense speculation in recent years. The court's oldest member, Ginsburg has survived multiple bouts with cancer, and in 2014 underwent a procedure to have a stent placed in her right coronary artery. 
   
   The fall happened Wednesday evening. 
   
   "She went home, but after experiencing discomfort overnight, went to George Washington University Hospital early this morning," the court said in a statement Thursday. "Tests showed that she fractured three ribs on her left side and she was admitted for observation and treatment." 
   
   It is not the first time that Ginsburg has fractured her ribs while on the court. In June 2012, Ginsburg fractured two ribs in a fall and did not disclose the injury to the public until months later. The court said at the time that despite the fracture, Ginsburg "did not skip a beat." 
   
   The Brooklyn-native, one of four liberal justices on the nine-member court, has said she plans to serve on the bench until she is 90, and has hired law clerks through 2020. 
   
   Her approach to the law has been described as cautious, though she has been influential in shaping jurisprudence in cases involving gender discrimination, women's reproductive health and international law. 
   
   She was the principal author of a landmark brief that led Supreme Court in 1971 to apply the the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment to women. 
   
   Ginsburg, the second of four women to serve on the high court, was appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1993. Before joining the court, she worked as the director of the ACLU's Women's Rights Project. 
   
   News of Ginsburg's fall comes on the same morning as the formal investiture of Justice Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump's second nominee to the high court. 
   
   The court said that more information would be provided as it became available. 
   
   WATCH: Here's what it's like being a Supreme Court justice ||||| CLOSE Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was hospitalized after a fall in her office on Wednesday evening left her with three fractured ribs. USA TODAY 
   
   Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Photo: H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY) 
   
   WASHINGTON – Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was hospitalized Thursday morning after falling in her office Wednesday night, the court announced. 
   
   Ginsburg, 85, went home after the fall but continued to experience "discomfort overnight" and went to George Washington University Hospital early Thursday. Tests revealed she fractured three ribs on her left side, and she "was admitted for observation and treatment," according to the court's statement. 
   
   The fall kept Ginsburg from attending Thursday's formal investiture ceremony for new Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh. The event attracted President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, all other Supreme Court justices and leaders of Washington's legal community. 
   
   Ginsburg, the court's eldest justice, has served for 25 years after being appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1993. She is the leader of the court's liberal wing. 
   
   She is a medical warrior, having survived colon cancer in 1999, pancreatic cancer a decade later, a heart stent procedure in 2014 and a previous bout with broken ribs. She works out with a personal trainer twice weekly in the Supreme Court's gym to the beat of the PBS NewsHour. 
   
   News of her fall moved swiftly through Washington legal circles Thursday morning, including during and after Kavanaugh's investiture ceremony. Many Ginsburg fans offered support on Twitter. 
   
   Known for her work ethic, Ginsburg wrote the first opinion of the Supreme Court’s term this year on age discrimination. The action marked the third consecutive year in which Ginsburg has written the first opinion of the term. Chief Justice John Roberts has remarked about Ginsburg’s speedy delivery of opinions. 
   
   'Feeling fine' at 85: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg fends off retirement 
   
   This year, Ginsburg said she intended to stay on the bench for at least five more years. 
   
   "I'm now 85," Ginsburg said in July, according to CNN. "My senior colleague, Justice John Paul Stevens, he stepped down when he was 90, so I think I have about at least five more years." 
   
   Given her age, some Democrats have expressed concerns about Ginsburg's health. President Trump has appointed two Supreme Court justices since taking office, and another opening on the bench could ensure conservative control of the court for decades. The Senate, which confirms justices, remains in Republican control after Tuesday's election. 
   
   "I pray for Ruth Bader Ginsburg every day," Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., said Sunday. "We cannot allow one more Supreme Court justice to be nominated and get through the Senate by this president, or we’ll lose that court for over a generation." 
   
   The second woman appointed to the court – Justice Sandra Day O'Connor became the first in 1981 – Ginsburg is a legend among women's right advocates. She expressed support for the #MeToo movement. 
   
   In recent years, she gained celebrity status among liberals – who lovingly refer to her as the "Notorious RBG" – and was the subject a recent documentary, "RBG." Her biography is the subject of an upcoming feature film, "On the Basis of Sex," in which she is played by actress Felicity Jones. 
   
   Contributing: Herb Jackson, USA TODAY Network 
   
   Ruth Bader Ginsburg on #MeToo: Women of her generation have 'many stories' 
   
   More: Ruth Bader Ginsburg says she has 'at least five more years' on Supreme Court 
   
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target: – Ruth Bader Ginsburg is "notorious" for, among other things, her killer workouts, which is maybe why the fit 85-year-old justice brushed off a tumble she took Wednesday evening at her office. However, the Supreme Court issued a statement Thursday noting that after she went home, Ginsburg had "discomfort overnight," and a visit to George Washington University Hospital early Thursday revealed she broke three ribs on her left side, USA Today reports. Ginsburg was admitted for "observation and treatment," the statement says. CNBC notes that Ginsburg's health has been under the microscope of late, due to both her age (she's the oldest Supreme Court justice) and the fact that she's one of just four liberal justices on the court's bench. Six years ago, she suffered a similar health scare and broke a couple of ribs then, too—and didn't make it public until months after the fact. (Over the summer, RBG predicted she had at least five years left on the court.)