Jan 15, 2007 8:54 am US/Pacific
Miss New Jersey USA Resigns Over Pregnancy
TRENTON, N.J.
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Ashley Harder, 20, told the newspaper she voluntarily stepped down because it's against pageant rules to compete while pregnant. (File)
AP
Another Miss USA tiara is changing heads. Ashley Harder, the current Miss New Jersey USA, has resigned from the pageant post because she is pregnant, The Philadelphia Daily News reported in Monday's newspapers.
Harder, 20, told the newspaper she voluntarily stepped down because it's against pageant rules to compete while pregnant. She could not immediately be reached for comment by The Associated Press.
But the runner-up for 2007 Miss New Jersey USA confirmed Monday that she is taking the reins. Erin Abrahamson, 23, of Essex Fells, said pageant officials called her Friday to let her know she would be assuming the title.
"Whatever made her resign, I wish her lots of luck and hope she's OK," Abrahamson said of Harder, adding that pageant officials didn't tell her why she would be taking over.
Harder's resignation is the latest to hit the pageant.
Miss Nevada USA Katie Rees was stripped of her title after racy photos of her appeared on the Internet. Miss USA Tara Conner, who was caught drinking in New York bars when she was still underage, was allowed to keep her tiara after she agreed to go into rehab and undergo drug testing.
Harder, 20, of Marlton, was crowned in October. She told the newspaper she's expecting her child in "late summer" and plans to marry her live-in boyfriend.
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