M: Let’s come at a problem from the opposite direction, try and find the outline of the answer from the outside in instead of the inside out… instead of quibbling about whether the Supreme Court has been making rulings that limit and restrict women in ways that adhere to misogynistic and or neocon “Christian” desires to reduce them to baby making secondary citizens, try and give me an answer to the contrapositive: what Supreme Court rulings since 2017 have strengthened the independence etc of women?
G: Very few Supreme Court rulings since 2017 could be interpreted as actively strengthening women's independence, bodily autonomy, or legal standing as equal citizens. Most major decisions have either eroded such standing (e.g. Dobbs v. Jackson) or have affected women only incidentally via broader civil rights or employment law rulings. But to answer your contrapositive request, here are the rulings that might qualify, even loosely:
Since Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022), which overturned Roe v. Wade, the general trend has been regression. No ruling since has explicitly restored or expanded women’s rights in a meaningful or autonomous capacity. The Dobbs decision gutted constitutional protection for abortion access, and subsequent Court behavior has mostly deferred to states, many of which enacted restrictions.
Best candidate for “strengthening women’s independence” since
2017:
➡️ Bostock v. Clayton County — expands workplace protections
through broad interpretation of sex discrimination.
Most directly related to reproductive
autonomy:
➡️ June Medical v. Russo — blocked an abortion restriction
pre-Dobbs, but was soon rendered obsolete.
Otherwise, the trend is toward retrenchment, not advancement. Most positive effects are incidental, not intentional.
There has been no landmark ruling since 2017 that affirmatively expands women’s legal independence in a significant, lasting, and unambiguous way.