The claim: Biden proposed a constitutional amendment to overturn Roe v. wade in 1982
Following the decision of the Supreme Court annul Roe v. Wadewhich gave Americans the constitutional right to abortion, President Joe Biden’s story on the issue has drawn fresh scrutiny.
A Facebook post shared on June 27 shows a screenshot of a cheep The Federalist senior editor David Harsanyi shared with a link to a New York Times article titled “When Joe Biden Voted to Let the States Overturn Roe v. Wade.”
“In 1982, Joe Biden proposes a constitutional amendment that would overturn Roe v. Wade and would allow states to choose their own abortion policies,” read the tweet, which has racked up more than 10,000 likes since it was posted on June 24.
The Facebook post generated 3,000 shares in less than a week. Similar posts have racked up hundreds of interactions on Facebook Y Twitter.
But the statement is misplaced.
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Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, introduced the constitutional amendment to overturn Roe v. Wade in 1981, not Biden. However, Biden voted for it in 1982.
USA TODAY reached out to social media users who shared the claim for comment.
Hatch filed an amendment to overturn Roe v. Wade
Hatch introduced the amendment in 1981, according to congress.gov. the amendment would have conceded “concurrent power of Congress and the States to restrict and prohibit abortion” and “declare that the Constitution does not guarantee the right to abortion.”
Biden, then a senator and a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, voted for the amendment in committee in March 1982, according to the New York Times. He said the vote was “the most difficult he had ever done as a senator and that, as a Roman Catholic, he was not sure he had the ‘right to impose’ his views on an issue that would affect the entire nation.” the reported times.
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The proposal failed to advance to the full Senate. The hatch was introduced a second amendment in 1983 who again declared that “the right to abortion is not guaranteed by the Constitution,” but Biden changed his stance and voted against it, according to archived congressional records.
Biden’s views on abortion have fluctuated over the years. The told the Washingtonian in a 1974 interview that the Roe v. The 1973 Wade “went too far” and did not believe that “a woman has the exclusive right to say what should happen to her body.”
But in 2012, President Barack Obama tweeted a direct quote from Biden, then vice president, on abortion saying, “I don’t think we have the right to tell other people, women, that they can’t control their bodies.”
After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24, Biden said, “The health and lives of women in this nation are now at risk,” USA TODAY reported.
Our rating: Partially false
Based on our research, we rate the claim that Biden proposed a constitutional amendment to overturn Roe v. PARTIALLY FALSE. Wade in 1982. Biden initially voted for that amendment, but he did not propose it. And Biden voted against the same amendment when it resurfaced a year later.
Our data verification sources:
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New York Times, March 29, 2019, When Joe Biden voted to allow states to overturn Roe v. Wade
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Congress.gov, September 21, 1981, SJRes.110 – A joint resolution to amend the Constitution to establish legislative authority in Congress and the States with respect to abortion.
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New York Times, March 11, 1982, ABORTION FRONT PASSED, 10-7, BY SENATE PANEL
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Barack Obama, October 11, 2012, cheep
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USA TODAY, June 24, The Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, eliminating the constitutional right to abortion
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USA TODAY, June 24, Biden calls Supreme Court abortion ruling “a very solemn moment”; what he and others are saying
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Check, July 5 Yes, President Biden supported allowing states to overturn Roe v. wade in 1982
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Congress.gov, January 26, 1983, SJRes.3 – A joint resolution to amend the Constitution to establish legislative authority in Congress and the States with respect to abortion.
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Washingtonian, June 1, 1974, death and the american boy
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Hathi Trust Digital Library, accessed July 5, United States Congress series game. Doc 13508 1983.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: In 1982, Biden voted to overturn Roe v. Wade