In Arizona's 5th, Evidence of the Potential of Human Life

To say that the 2010 midterm elections were a huge victory for the pro-life movement would be an understatement. But there is one newly elected congressman whose story strikes home with many of us who see the potential of all human lives.

In Arizona's fifth Congressional District, there's no doubt that there was a huge difference between challenger David Schweikert (R) and his opponent, incumbent Rep. Harry Mitchell (D). Schweikert, who most recently served as Tresurer of Maricopa County, received the endorsements of such pro-life organizations such as the Arizona Right to Life and the Concerned Women Political Action Committee (CWPAC). Rep. Mitchell, on the other hand has compiled a pro-abortion record, opposing such key pro-life issues such as the ban on the Mexico City Policy and the Stupak-Pitts Amendment.

But Dave Schweikert's stance on the Right to Life issue goes even deeper than that of a debate on political ideology.

In 1961, an single woman in Los Angeles was faced with a very difficult situation: she recently discovered that she was pregnant. She was confused, not sure what to do. Eventually she decided that in her situation, the only choice she had was to have an abortion. Considering that this was prior to the infamous Roe v. Wade decision, the only way someone could obtain an abortion was to have it done illegally, a very dangerous gamble then as it is now. However, while she was being driven to the place where the abortion was to be performed, the young mother suddenly decided that she did not want to go through with the abortion.

She eventually did give birth to a beautiful baby boy on March 3, 1962. Despite the joy the mother had for her newborn baby, she knew that she was in no financial situation to take care of a child. It was because of this issue that the mother made the decision to give her child up for adoption so that her child would receive, not only the love of both a mother and a father, but also have the opportunity to reach all the goals that this child may want to acheive.

It was thus that the Schweikert family from Scottsdale, AZ took the baby into their home. Thorugh the lessons, support, and encouragement of his adopted family, David Schweikert went on to earn a BA in Finance and Real Estate in 1985 from Arizona State University and an MBA in 2005 from ASU as well. In 1990, Schweikert was elected to serve Arizona's 28th legislative district in the Arizona State House of Representatives. Upon winning reelection in 1992, he became majority whip. In 1995, Gov. Fife Symington, III (R-Arizona) appointed Schweikert to be chairman of the Arizona State Board of Equalization. In his tenure, which ended in 2003, he oversaw the dozens of tax protests of the citizens and businesses in Arizona. In 2004, he was appointed Chief Deputy Treasurer of Maricopa County, and later that year Treasurer.

Despite losing the 1994 Republican primary to incumbent freshman Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R) and the 2008 race against Rep. Mitchell, in 2009 he announced that he would once again be running for Congress. And now, after finally defeating Mitchell 53%-43%, David Schweikert, that preborn child whose mother changed her mind at the last minute and chose life, is now just a little over a month away from being sworn into the United States House of Representative to represent Arizona's 5th district.

In addition to his distingushed resume of being a public service, Schweickert and his wife, Joyce, are devout Catholics and parishioners of St. Maria Goretti Roman Catholic Church in Scottsdale, AZ. His Catholic and pro-life activities include membership in the Knights of Columbus and the Arizona State Right to Life.

In 1998, 36 years after he was adopted by the Schweikert family, Dave was given the contact information of his birth mother. The congressman-elect recalls:

"After a family discussion, and sending a hand-written note, days later I received a joyful phone call. And through the tears, she just kept asking me if I was happy, if I was healthy. She wanted me to know that every single day of my life, she'd pray for me."

While Representative-elect David Schweikert is bound to be noted for his strong conservative positions on such issues as defending our 2nd amendment rights, offshore drilling and drilling in ANWR, cutting taxes, his commitment to erasing the National Debt, and opposing the radical Obama administration overall, he will always be, for me, evidence of the potential that every human life possesses. I pray that his story will inspire those of us in the pro-life movement to continue to fight the good fight for the most vulnerable in our society and will inspire mothers who face the same challenges that Rep.-elect Schweikert's mother faced, to choose life for the potential success story that God has blest them with.

To hear Rep.-elect Schweikert's story in his own words, click here.