Former Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Ill., a longtime foe of abortion rights, died yesterday at the age of 83, of complications related to recent open-heart surgery.

Hyde, who represented a district in suburban Chicago, was best known as the author of the Hyde Amendment, which forbade the federal government for giving medical assistance to low-income women if it would be used to pay for an abortion. The amendment has been in force since 1976, and has made it more difficult for poor women to receive reproductive health care.

Hyde was also a leader in the drive to impeach then-President Bill Clinton over inconsistent statements he had given regarding an extramarital affair. Hyde, who served as chair of the committee that referred the charges to the full House of Representatives, worked assiduously to get the measure through. Later, Hyde would serve as the leader of the House managers, who prosecuted Clinton in the Senate. The Senate ultimately chose not to remove Clinton from office. During the impeachment trial, it was revealed that Hyde had also had an extramarital affair in the late 1960s.

In failing health, Hyde chose not to stand for re-election in 2006. He was succeeded by Rep. Peter Roskum, R-Ill. On November 5 of this year, President George W. Bush awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.

Sarah Horsley, communications and campaigns director at the National Network of Abortion Funds, issued the following statement upon Hyde's death:

For the last 30 years, the Hyde Amendment has effectively denied hundreds of thousands of poor women the right to abortion. At the National Network of Abortion Funds, we talk to women every day who must use money they need for food and rent to cover the cost of an abortion. Some women can’t raise enough money and can’t get an abortion. The Network and our member Funds around the country help poor women to pay for abortion, and we also keep fighting to restore the Medicaid coverage banned by the Hyde Amendment. We are currently leading a coalition of over 60 groups around the country in the Hyde – 30 Years is Enough! Campaign. You can join our effort to repeal the Hyde Amendment by signing our petition to Congress. We need your help to make sure that every woman’s decisions about her body and her family are honored.