A little over two weeks ago, The New York Times published a lengthy editorial titled “Please Stay, Justice Kennedy. America Needs You.” The passionate editorial correctly explained that were President Donald J. Trump to replace Kennedy with a more dependable conservative on the U.S. Supreme Court, then various of Kennedy’s most notable rulings in the areas of abortion rights, affirmative action in college admissions, and equal rights for LGBTQ individuals would be at serious risk of being overruled.

To be sure, there are few if any jobs more meaningful than serving as one of the nine justices on the U.S. Supreme Court. In February of this year, Kennedy celebrated the 30th anniversary of his joining the court. And this July, he will turn 82 years old. I recently had the pleasure of seeing Kennedy take part in an investiture ceremony as another of his former law clerks, this time Stephanos Bibas, was formally sworn in as a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit judge in Philadelphia. Kennedy seemed to be in great shape mentally and physically and was an active participant in the ceremony. Nevertheless, one thing that none of us can ever know for sure is how much longer we are destined to remain among the living.