Equal protection under the law is not optional; it is the foundation of any real democracy.

Last week marked one year since Trump’s inauguration. 

Trying to take stock of what’s happened in the year since he took office for the second time is a daunting task—from the barrage of executive orders, to the appointment of unqualified Cabinet members, restructuring and elimination of federal agencies, mass firings of federal employees, attacks on universities and women’s studies programs to elimination of diversity programs, and more. There’s a lot to keep track of. 

An analysis from the National Partnership for Women and Families chronicles 53 actions to date by the Trump administration that specifically targeted women and families. These ranged from impacts on women in the workplace, such as threatening the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, revoking policies governing sexual harassment, stripping protections for domestic workers, and other laws and policies that supported women and women of color in particular; to life-threatening impacts on women’s health, by gutting Medicaid, allowing the Affordable Care Act tax credits to expire and freezing funding for the Title X Family Planning Program. The list is far longer than I could include here; I encourage you to read it in its entirety.

As I said, it’s a lot to keep track of—but each move is a blow to our fundamental rights, and we can’t let any action go unnoticed. The list will be our roadmap for restoring and rebuilding when the opportunity presents. 

It’s not just women in the U.S. who are being impacted: the dismantling of USAID funding last year, and most recently Trump’s radically expanded global gag rule, announced Friday, threaten the lives and well-being of women worldwide. The global gag rule has historically prevented NGOs around the world from advocating for or providing abortions if they are receiving U.S. funds—Trump reinstated the rule as one of his first actions in office. The new, expanded gag rule goes even further, applying the policy to organizations that advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion programs and support the rights of trans people. The change has the potential to affect billions of dollars in funding for organizations around the globe. 

Trump’s rampage over the past year hasn’t gone unnoticed by the American public. His approval ratings have dropped by over 10 points since a year ago among registered voters, and his support among younger and nonwhite voters has dropped quite significantly, according to a New York Times/Siena University poll. When it comes to the reasons for these drops in his support, well, it’s just about everything he’s done: Voters have unfavorable views of his performance on nearly every issue the poll asked about, in particular the economy and his handling of the Epstein files. 

It’s been a year of devastation—of severe threats to health and well-being, of economic loss, of fear for undocumented and immigrant communities. But it’s also been a year of resistance—from the sounds of fiery speeches in the halls of power, to the cries of whistles in the streets of American cities. The resistance is massive, and growing every day. Millions have taken to the streets for No Kings marches. More than 600 lawsuits have been brought against the administration—and we’re winning most of them. Democrats saw significant victories in the elections last November—victories that were carried by women’s votes.

Ms. will be here for the fight forward, and to rebuild a democracy and a country that treats all of us as human beings entitled to equality, respect and justice under the law.