Schaaf was born in 1957 in St. Louis, Missouri, moving to St. Joseph as a youth.
Schaaf was first elected to the Missouri House of Representatives in 2002, winning reelection in 2004, 2006, and 2008.
As a result, Missouri Law Enforcement cannot access a person's phone or computer without a warrant based upon probable cause as with other protected papers and effects.
For 15 years, Schaaf opposed, often filibustered and defeated bills that would have created a statewide prescription drug monitoring program, which would have put patients' private medical information regarding controlled substances on a government database accessible by over 30,000 people.
[1] After being in the legislature, Schaaf worked as a physician in the Missouri Department of Corrections caring for inmates.