(SFLA) For some pro-abortion politicians, if they can’t change history (ex, reversing Roe), then they’ll erase it.
Maybe that’s what abortion-loving Democrats in DuPage County, Illinois, thought when they voted to rename The Henry J. Hyde Judicial Facility to the DuPage County Judicial Facility.
The late Rep. Hyde (R-IL) was well-known for his proud and unwavering pro-life stance and his role in former President Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial. However, the decision to rename the DuPage courthouse happened mainly because local Democrats were upset with Hyde’s stance on life and wanted his legacy erased.
For context, Rep. Hyde was the chief sponsor of the Hyde Amendment, which limits the use of federal funding for abortions. The amendment was first enacted in 1977. It’s a statutory provision included in the annual appropriation act that funds the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), and Education. Essentially, the Hyde Amendment prohibits federal funding for those departments from being used to fund most abortions, including federal funding for Medicaid and Medicare.
[Click here to subscribe to Pregnancy Help News!]
Most modern Democrats detest the Hyde Amendment, hence the decision to rename the local courthouse. According to the county board chair, Deborah Conroy, public buildings are meant to “serve all people,” and Rep. Hyde did not uphold this by restricting the “health care rights of women.”
It would seem that “all people,” in this context, do not include local pro-lifers. The decision to rename the courthouse sparked mixed reactions. Many in the liberal-leaning county welcomed the new name. However, others weren’t happy. Anthony Hyde, Rep. Hyde’s son, stated that his father did nothing to deserve his name being removed.
“My father did a lot of great things for DuPage County,” Anthony said. “He supported tax breaks for low-income families and for children. He was a strong proponent of adoption services as an alternative to abortion.”
Tweet This: Henry Hyde supported tax breaks for low-income families and for children and a proponent of adoption services as an alternative to abortion.
The move to rename the facility comes as the Democrat Party embraces an increasingly radical pro-abortion stance. When the Hyde Amendment was enacted in 1977, it enjoyed bipartisan support. While the Democrat Party largely supported legalized abortion, taxpayer-funded abortion wasn’t a hill that they wanted to die on. Today that has changed. Any pretense of being pro-choice has gone out the window; the Democratic Party unabashedly supports radical pro-abortion policies.
It’s one thing to allow legalized abortion; it’s another to force the American people to pay for it. A large swath of the American public would like the choice to not have their hard-earned money spent on killing babies, and the Hyde Amendment helps make that possible.
Tweet This: A large number of Americans would like the choice to not have their $$ spent on killing babies & the Hyde Amendment helps make that possible
Also, as Hyde’s son pointed out, the option to rename the courthouse is part of the wider cancel culture movement, where people are canceled for one issue without regard to who they are. Rep. Hyde wasn’t just a pro-life champion; He was a World War II veteran and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He worked to improve local infrastructure. Ironically, Rep. Hyde also had a reputation for working across the aisle with the party that canceled him, siding with Democrats on issues like gun control and paid family medical leave.
Love him or hate him, Rep. Hyde left a lasting impact on America and DuPage County. Erasing his name is an attempt to forget an integral part of the county’s history. Whether we like history or not, we shouldn’t try to erase it. The Pro-Life Generation (PLG) knows the history of abortion, which makes us even more capable of fighting it.
Editor's note: This article was published by Students for Life of America and is reprinted with permission.
