Henry John Hyde was an American politician who served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 2007, representing the 6th district of Illinois, an area of Chicago's northwestern suburbs. He was Chairman of the Judiciary Committee from 1995 to 2001, and the House International Relations Committee from 2001 to 2007. Hyde is most famous for being a vocal opponent of abortion; to this end, he was the primary sponsor of the Hyde Amendment, which largely bars the payment of abortions with federal funds.
