Attacks on Clinics, Abandonment of Justice—And the Feminist Resistance Rising in Response

Trump’s pardons and DOJ’s retreat on clinic protections embolden extremists—but feminists are fighting back, rolling up their sleeves to defend reproductive rights.

A protest with signs, "Feminists are the majority" and "Feminist Majority Leadership Alliances"
Abortion rights activists outside of the U.S. Supreme Court ahead of an expected ruling on abortion clinic restrictions on June 27, 2016. (Mandel Ngan / AFP via Getty Images)

Ms. reported last month on Trump’s pardon of 23 antiabortion extremists who were in prison for attacking women’s reproductive health clinics in four states and Washington, D.C.. The following day, the Justice Department announced they would stop prosecuting most antiabortion extremists who violate the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, and dismissed three pending criminal FACE Act cases related to attacks on clinics in Tennessee, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

In short: Trump has sent a message intended to embolden extremists who seek to terrorize clinic workers and patients.

This is not theory. This is happening now. This is a stark reminder that our opponents are relentless in their efforts to undermine hard-won progress and endanger the lives of women.

As a new series of alarming executive orders and firings dominated the headlines last week, this moment can feel hopeless—but it’s not. This is a call to action for feminists everywhere. And as the cover of our Ms. Winter issue proclaims, we are “ROLLING UP OUR SLEEVES.”

A pink Ms. magazine cover with big black block letters, "Rolling Up Our Sleeves"

In the issue, we feature how feminists and the feminist movement are fighting back. We talked to governors and state attorneys general and members of Congress who are acting to defend women’s rights and progress against the president’s attacks. But just as importantly, we lift up strategies for moving forward, even in this time of backlash. (As Winston Churchill said, “Never let a good crisis go to waste.”)

“Having fought for women’s rights for decades, I think that there will be many opportunities, including opportunities that aren’t foreseeable right now,” says Sue Frietsche, executive director of the Women’s Law Project in Pennsylvania. “We need to be alert, we need to be networked in and we need to be ready to pounce. We have to be strategic, full of energy and relentless.”

An attendee at the People's March in Washington holds a sign, "ERA Now" and "Give my daughter her rights back"
Attendees of the People’s March at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 18, 2025. (Bryan Dozier / Middle East Images via AFP via Getty Images)

We showcase the new feminists in Congress, including the first two Black women serving in the Senate simultaneously: Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.). Delaware is also home to our first openly trans member of the House of Representatives, Democrat Sarah McBride. And many new women won seats in state legislatures and down-ballot races—including in a number of states where women now comprise the majority of state senates or houses/assemblies.

“This is not the first time that politics has created tension,” said the third new Democratic woman in the Senate, Michigan’s Elissa Slotkin. “We’ve always gotten through those periods with two things: engaged citizens and principled leaders … ready to receive the ball and do something about it.”

Granted, it’s important to take moments to grieve what we lost, and the attacks we will face over the next four years, as many of the most vulnerable people in this country are adversely impacted by the new administration. But we owe it to our communities—and to ourselves—to fight back.

Our sleeves are rolled up. Are yours?

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About

Katherine Spillar is the executive director of Feminist Majority Foundation and executive editor of Ms., where she oversees editorial content and the Ms. in the Classroom program.