Washington: The United States made history on Thursday as Ketanji Brown Jackson was sworn in as the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court. The 51-year-old's appointment was made by Democratic President Joe Biden.

“I am truly grateful to be part of the promise of our great Nation. I extend my sincerest thanks to all of my new colleagues for their warm and gracious welcome,” Jackson said in a statement, in which she also thanked Chief Justice John Roberts and now-retired Justice Stephen Breyer.

The 51-year-old Jackson is the court’s 116th justice and she took the place Thursday of the justice she once worked for. Justice Stephen Breyer’s retirement took effect at noon.

Moments later, joined by her family, Jackson recited the two oaths required of Supreme Court justices, one administered by Breyer and the other by Chief Justice John Roberts.

Jackson, a federal judge since 2013, is joining three other women, Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett — the first time four women will serve together on the nine-member court.

While her confirmation is a milestone, it won't change the 6-3 conservative majority on the court, which has come under fire for recent rulings broadening the right to bear arms and eviscerating abortion rights.

Jackson has been a part of several cases related to abortion access, and the positions that she and her colleagues took in those cases are consistent with a pro-choice, Roe-affirming position. In 2001, Jackson helped draft a brief in a Massachusetts case supporting restrictions on anti-abortion protests at clinics.

As a district judge for the United States Court of Appeals, she condemned a Trump administration policy to cut funding for teen pregnancy prevention as “arbitrary and capricious.” These rulings and the support Jackson has received indicate that she is pro-abortion.

Ketanji Brown Jackson has two degrees from the prestigious Harvard University and once served as Editor of the Harvard Law Review.