If you live in Arizona’s Legislative District 26, you have a very important vote to cast for State Senator this November. Candidate Cheryl Cage is running against the incumbent Al Melvin. With your vote for Cage you can have a hand in helping ensure the women of Arizona, in conjunction with their families and doctors, will retain the right to make their own health care decisions, rather than having our state legislature make decisions for them.

Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona has endorsed Cheryl Cage because of her respect for women and her stand on the issues. As a volunteer with Planned Parenthood and a resident in LD 26, I’m very interested in knowing a candidate’s positions on women’s health and reproductive issues, so I asked Cheryl Cage questions about her positions.

Education is at the top of Cheryl Cage’s list of important issues, so I asked if this includes age-appropriate, medically-accurate sex education for the children of this state. Cage understands that “this information is vital for the physical and emotional health of a child.” Arizona has the second highest teen pregnancy rate in the country, yet no legislation supporting “real sex ed” has made it out of committee. With Cheryl Cage in our state senate, I believe comprehensive sex-ed classes stand a chance of being put in place and our state’s teens could be 50% less likely to become pregnant. Continue reading →