Walking around in an evening gown or a swimsuit or maybe playing the water glasses as a talent is easy, but the question-and-answer portion of the Miss America pageant is usually what trips up the contestants. While the contestants are smart, thoughtful young women, all of that pressure and all of those spotlights can really get to a person’s head, rendering all senses useless and all answers monosyllabic. Luckily, that didn't happen to Miss Tennessee Hannah Robison, who stood for Planned Parenthood during the segment and absolutely crushed her answer.
Former Miss America, current goddess on Earth, and benevolent judge Vanessa Williams asked the following question: “Some legislators are threatening to shut down the government over federal contributions to Planned Parenthood, even though no federal funds can be used for abortions. Should Planned Parenthood funding be cut off?” It’s a complicated question to answer in 20 seconds, right? Even Williams told Robison to stop and take a breath.
Well, Robison absolutely hit her answer out of the park. She was succinct (because you only have 20 seconds anyway), thoughtful, and yet still forceful about her beliefs. Here’s what Robison said:
“I don’t think Planned Parenthood funding should be cut off. The $500 million that gets given to Planned Parenthood every single year goes to female…care. It goes for scanning for cancers, it goes for mammograms…and if we don’t give that funding to Planned Parenthood, those women will be out of healthcare for reproductive causes.”
Boom. Time to drop that mic, lady. It’s nice to see a woman on a national platform such as the Miss America pageant not shy away from important issues like women’s reproductive health. Some of Robison’s fellow contestants hemmed and hawed over their answers (which is disappointing, because have an opinion and stick with it, ladies!), but Robison completely nailed it. Even though she didn’t win the crown, she certainly gained plenty of fans Sunday night with her thoughtful answer.
Image: Ida Mae Astute/ABC
