Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Most Iconic Quotes

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

(Image credit: Getty Images ¦ David Hume Kennerly)

By The Editors 2020-09-19T10:18:57Z

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away today at the age of 87 from complications of cancer. The feminist and cultural icon was known for championing women's rights and her strong—and very quote-worthy—views. Here, some of her most legendary quotes:

My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.
— 2020

My mother told me two things constantly. One was to be a lady, and the other was to be independent. The study of law was unusual for women of my generation. For most girls growing up in the '40s, the most important degree was not your B.A., but your M.R.S.
— via the ACLU

My idea of how choice should have developed was not a privacy notion, not a doctor’s right notion, but a woman’s right to control her own destiny, to be able to make choices without a Big Brother state telling her what she can and cannot do.
— 2019

Yet what greater defeat could we suffer than to come to resemble the forces we oppose in their disrespect for human dignity?
— 2012

Women will have achieved true equality when men share with them the responsibility of bringing up the next generation.
— 2001

Ruth Bader Ginsburg with William Rehnquist & Bill Clinton

I tell law students… if you are going to be a lawyer and just practice your profession, you have a skill—very much like a plumber. But if you want to be a true professional, you will do something outside yourself… something that makes life a little better for people less fortunate than you.
— 2012

People ask me sometimes, when—when do you think it will it be enough? When will there be enough women on the court? And my answer is when there are nine.
— 2015