CV NEWS FEED // George Weigel, biographer of Pope John Paul II and longtime friend of the late Congressman Henry J. Hyde, proposed naming an Illinois federal building in Hyde’s honor after DuPage County officials stripped his name from a courthouse.
Hyde, a Republican from Illinois, was best known for authoring the Hyde Amendment, which has prevented federal funding of most abortions since 1976.
“[H]ere is a suggestion for the Trump administration and the Congress: Name a federal courthouse in the Land of Lincoln after Henry J. Hyde,” Weigel said in a March 19 article for First Things. “Lincoln would have approved. So would St. Thomas More, whose portrait Henry prominently displayed in his congressional office.”
In February, the DuPage County Board voted 10-5 to remove Hyde’s name from the county’s courthouse, citing his pro-life legacy as a key factor in the decision, CatholicVote previously reported.
Weigel was sharply critical of the decision to remove Hyde’s name.
“Thus did the county board members underscore that Democrats have learned virtually nothing from the 2024 elections,” he said.
According to Weigel, Hyde’s legacy extended beyond the pro-life movement — he was widely respected for his leadership on the House Judiciary Committee and his defense of human rights abroad.
“As a close student of history, [Hyde] was a prudent, skillful legislator who was no more moved by ideologues of the right than by ideologues of the left,” Weigel said.
He later added, “He fought for the human rights of dissidents behind the Iron Curtain as forcefully as he fought for the right to life of the unborn.”
Weigel recalled Hyde’s wisdom and courage, particularly in moments when he reminded his colleagues of the duty to govern with principle.
Hyde once said to members of Congress: “What we do here we ought to do as a matter of vocation: as a matter of giving flesh and blood to our convictions about justice — our moral duty to give everyone his due.”
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