Maria Cahill is beautiful, smart and open-minded, but she stands her ground—even when it comes to defending pro-life beliefs in the public eye.
From Townhall Magazine's EXCLUSIVE Townhall of Fame feature by Mallory Carr:
Maria Cahill does not waste any opportunity to stand up for life. As Miss Delaware 2011, she was told by some that she should not speak up about pro-life issues.
“I heard a lot of people say that because I was Miss Delaware and represented the Miss America Organization, for that reason, I had no right to talk about anything political,” Cahill tells Townhall. “In my mind, I thought exactly the opposite.”
Instead, Cahill has used her voice as Miss Delaware to stand, unabashed, with the pro-life movement.
To Cahill, abortion is not part of any GOP “war on women” or infringement on women’s rights.
“With this [birth-control] mandate and the so-called ‘war on women,’” she says, “I feel like people don’t know both sides and they’re not getting to the real root of the problem, and that is another life is at stake. I think getting to the root of the problem is where the solution lies.”
Cahill offers a much-needed voice in the movement, one that is not afraid or ashamed of her beliefs. Referring to the use of the empty platitude created by pro-abortion activists of “My body, my choice,” she exposes its lack of morality: “No one likes to think of themselves as selfish. But whenever those terms get thrown around like ‘My body, my choice,’ you’re just bringing it all back onto yourself, and, to me, that’s selfish, whether people want to believe it or not.”
Passionate and committed, Cahill has been involved in pro-life movement her entire life.
“I was always involved growing up,” she tells Townhall. “Ever since I can remember, I was volunteering at pro-life events.”
She has attended the March for Life every year as well, including an appearance this past January as Miss Delaware.
“I was really debating going as Miss Delaware or not. I did not tell my directors I was going,” Cahill reveals.
But, she is glad she did. Speaking of her experience of this past March for Life, Cahill said the best part was how thankful people were that they had another voice in their corner.
“I think people appreciate having someone else in their corner. I feel the same way about other people that stand up for the prolife movement,” Cahill says.
Read more about Miss Delaware Maria Cahill in the May isssue of Townhall Magazine.
