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Ruth Bader Ginsburg misses Supreme Court arguments due to stomach bug

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was absent when her Supreme Court colleagues took the bench Wednesday morning.

Credit: AP Photo/Stephan Savoia

In this Jan. 30, 2018 file photo Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg waves in acknowledgement of the applause she receives as she arrives for a "fireside chat" in the Bruce M. Selya Appellate Courtroom at the Roger William University Law School in Bristol, R.I.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court says Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is missing arguments at the court because she’s home sick with a stomach bug.

The 86-year-old Ginsburg was absent when her colleagues took the bench just after 10 a.m. Wednesday. Chief Justice John Roberts announced she was indisposed, but would take part in the decision of the two cases being argued.

Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg says a stomach bug kept Ginsburg at home.

Ginsburg has had two separate bouts with cancer in the past year. Her recovery from lung cancer surgery caused her to miss court sessions in January. They were her first absences from arguments in a quarter-century as a justice.

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She had radiation treatment for a tumor on her pancreas in August.

Credit: AP

FILE - In this Nov. 30, 2018, file photo, the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court gather for a formal group portrait to include the new Associate Justice, top row, far right, at the Supreme Court Building in Washington. Seated from left: Associate Justice Stephen Breyer, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts, Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Associate Justice Samuel Alito Jr. Standing behind from left: Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch, Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice Elena Kagan and Associate Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)