In its 219-year history, only two women justices have served on the Supreme Court, although the August 6, 2009 Senate confirmation of Sonia Sotomayor (who fills the seat vacated by Justice David Souter) will place a third woman on the bench in the fall of 2009.
The Supreme Court's first two women hailed from significantly different ideological backgrounds. The court's first female justice, Sandra Day O'Connor, was nominated by a Republican president in 1981 and was regarded as a conservative pick. The second female justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, was the choice of a Democratic president in 1993 and widely viewed as liberal.
The two women served together until O'Connor's retirement in 2005; and since her departure, many on both sides of the aisle have pushed for another female nominee.
Although Ginsburg remains on the court, a February 2009 diagnosis of pancreatic cancer suggests she may need to step down if her health worsens.
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