This question-answer combo that will live in infamy. Many Tennesseans wince when they hear someone talk about it. There's a 50-50 chance that they're either going to rave about Hannah Robison, or treat her like the scum of the earth. I read headlines from all over the nation saying things like "Miss Informed" and "Fact-checking Miss Tennessee", and many that say "Miss Tennessee Flawlessly Responds to Question" and "You'll Love Miss Tennessee's Answer".

It's crazy to me that people can get so upset with an answer from a Miss America contestant who literally had 20 seconds to formulate an answer and verbalize it, especially coming from an intense judge who served her a loaded question. We all know what Vanessa Williams was looking for when she asked, "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?"

However, Miss Tennessee didn't give Vanessa what she was looking for, or, for that matter, what millions of other Americans watching the competition were looking for that night. Hannah 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."

Here lies the argument for many conservatives: First, they argue that the $500 million is given by multiple sources. After that, they go on to say that Planned Parenthood doesn't perform mammograms. Finally, they claim that if Planned Parenthood ceases to exist then women will not be out of healthcare. They claim that her answer has become an advertisement for the company.

However, I beg to differ.

Let's think logically for a minute. Hannah is a 21 year-old chemistry major from a small town in West Tennessee. Speaking from my own experience, around here, you are surrounded by hundreds of people who share the same beliefs, morals, and values. After this, she goes off to college at UT Martin and thinks for herself. Her professors ask real life controversial questions in her classes. Her thoughts and opinions start to morph and change. She not only starts thinking about the people in her social class, but also people in different ones.

Government services aren't made specifically for the middle class Americans who have a good head on their shoulders. Government is here to take care of the people who can't take care of themselves. Whether that means people who can’t mentally or physically take care of themselves, people who can’t afford to take care of themselves, or people who aren’t old enough and stable enough to take care of themselves.

President Nixon, the President who signed Title X (with bipartisan support) said, “no American woman should be denied access to family planning assistance because of her economic condition.”

So why does the government fund Planned Parenthood? Does it really cost $500 million? A lot of people argue this. They say that it’s multiple sources that fund this service. They’re not wrong. The money that drives Planned Parenthood comes from quite a few different places.

The government, whether it be federal, state, or local allocated $528.4 million during the 2014 fiscal year. This money goes to Planned Parenthood from Title X, which was signed in 1970 by President Nixon. The money allocated to Planned Parenthood from Title X cannot fund abortions. It is written in law. Title X was actually signed to prevent abortions by investing more money into sex education and contraceptives.

You can see this on The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' website.

So yes, the government does give about $500 million to Planned Parenthood.

This brings up the question: What does Planned Parenthood actually do with that money? Does it go to female care? Mammograms? Scanning for cancers?

Indirectly, yes. According to Planned Parenthood’s records, they actually perform about 500,000 breast exams a year. Also, we have to take into account that the people who work at Planned Parenthood affiliated clinics are more than likely nurse practitioners. They cannot perform a mammogram. That is something you get referred to by a nurse and get done at a hospital. But wouldn’t some money that goes to Planned Parenthood actually go to breast exams and referrals?

So ,yes, money for Planned Parenthood does do that.

Here’s an actual breakdown of the services Planned Parenthood provides:

Did you know that 78 percent of the people who receive help from Planned Parenthood fall at or below 150 percent of the poverty guidelines in the United States? These are men and women from all over the country. When you live under these conditions, a faith-based service usually isn’t an option. Clinics funded by churches are amazing-no one can deny that. However, they’re usually more than difficult to come in contact with, and especially in a highly populated area.

My family is from California. When I was three years old, my parents moved to Tennessee. Receiving aid from the church is a whole lot different out West than in the South. My family in Sacramento drives about half an hour to get to church on a Sunday morning. And, surprisingly, that’s pretty normal. These areas are so highly populated that there can be a new Chinese restaurant opening down the street, and you wouldn’t hear about it for a year. So imagine trying to find a doctor when you move to a place like this. It’s pretty difficult, and if you don’t have health insurance, it can be pretty expensive.

So, will these women be out of healthcare if Planned Parenthood is defunded? I believe so. The church and faith based facilities that would be forced to take on these people don’t have the capacity and the means to do this. Not only that, but people don’t know where to go. The people who go to Planned Parenthood do so because it is a federal program, and 78 percent of these people get federal aid. It is the first place they are going to think of when they need help.

So will women be out of healthcare for reproductive causes if Planned Parenthood closes its doors? Yes. And so will men, and so will unborn children.

Robison had several good points when she answered the question on Miss America. She had obviously done her research and thought about it before she actually answered the question. Yes, parts of the statement were a little bit fuzzy. They didn’t fully explain what goes on at Planned Parenthood. However, when she gets 20 seconds to answer a question that could take 20 minutes to fully explain. Her answer is sufficient.