An interesting contradiction....

I'd like to point out an interesting contradiction here within the Republican Party. I'm sure this has been posted in a number of liberal and progressive blogs, but I though I would toss it into my own blog. It pertains to three particular news stories that have occurred in the past couple of days, all from Yahoo News. Here is the first story, titled Bush Touts Women's Role in Democracy:

WASHINGTON - President Bush said Tuesday that democracies only reach their potential when women are allowed to fully participate in society, singling out
Iran, North Korea and Myanmar as nations that are suppressing women's basic rights.

"America will help women stand up for their freedom, no matter where they live," Bush said at a White House celebration of Women's History Month and International Women's Day.

Bush, joined at the event by women leaders from Iraq and Afghanistan, pointed to several spots around the globe where women are assuming higher profiles.

Liberia recently elected its first woman president — the first woman to lead an African nation — and women head the governments of Germany, Chile and the Philippines, for instance. Bush noted that nearly half of the members of Rwanda's parliament are women and that women hold increasing numbers of parliamentary seats in places such as Morocco, Jordan and Tunisia.

"As women become a part of the democratic process, they help spread freedom and justice and, most importantly of all, hope for a future," Bush said.

Okay, now here is the second story that I found, titled South Dakota Bans Most Abortions:

PIERRE, S.D. - South Dakota's governor signed a near-total ban on abortions in the state into law in what the governor called a "direct frontal assault" on the U.S. Supreme Court decision to legalize the practice 33 years ago.

Supporters and opponents of abortion rights had been gearing up for a showdown even before Gov. Mike Rounds added his signature to the bill Monday and both sides expected a lengthy battle.

Supporters and opponents of abortion rights had been gearing up for a showdown even before Gov. Mike Rounds added his signature to the bill Monday and both sides expected a lengthy battle.

"Personally I think this court will be more interested in looking at different aspects of Roe v. Wade rather than the direct frontal assault, but we'll never know unless someone tries," Rounds said.

Rob Regier, executive director of the South Dakota Family Policy Council, commended Rounds' decision. "His signature marks the beginning of a renewed effort to abolish abortion in our country," Regier said.

Rounds also made these comments as he signed the bill. From a Yahoo News story titled, South Dakota governor signs controversial abortion ban:

Rounds described the law as a "direct challenge" to the Roe versus Wade decision of 1973, in which the US Supreme Court ruled that bans on abortion violated a woman's constitutional right to privacy.

"The reversal of a Supreme Court opinion is possible," Rounds said in a statement, comparing South Dakota's fight against abortion to the fight against racial segregation in the 1950s.

The governor said he expected the South Dakota law to be challenged.

"Because this new law is a direct challenge to the Roe-versus-Wade interpretation of the constitution, I expect this law will be taken to court and prevented from going into effect this July," he said.

The legal battle could take years and end up in the Supreme Court, Rounds predicted. In the meantime, the state's existing laws would remain in effect, he said.

Can you see the hypocrisy here?