Michele Bachmann, GOP presidential candidate: Miscarriage helped shaped my anti-abortion stance

Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann revealed this week that she suffered through a miscarriage more than two decades ago, a "devastating" event that helped define her staunch stance against abortion.

She told a crowd in South Carolina Wednesday the miscarriage led to the belief that "no matter how many children were brought into our life, we would receive them because we are committed to life."

The Minnesota congresswoman and Tea Party favorite, who describes herself as "100 % pro-life," now has five children and has taken in 23 foster kids.

Bachmann, 55, recounted that she unexpectedly became pregnant with the child, her third. "We ended up losing that child. And it was devastating for both of us, as you can imagine if any of you have lost a child," she said.

"At that moment we didn't think of ourselves as overly career minded or overly materialistic," she said. "When we lost that child, it changed us. And it changed us forever."

According to CNN's Peter Hamby, Bachmann's revelation was unplanned and some of her staffers were "caught by surprise when she talked about the miscarriage."

Bachmann has frequently discussed her opposition to abortion and has criticized her competition, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, for refusing to take the Susan B. Anthony List's anti-abortion pledge, which has the "ultimate goal of ending abortion in this country."

Romney has insisted the pledge is "overly broad and would have unintended consequences."

Other GOP candidates, including Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, Tim Pawlenty and Ron Paul, have signed the document.

The personal confession on reproductive health echoes that of Rep. Jackie Speier, who revealed on the House floor in February that she had once had an abortion.

The choked-up Califoia Democrat made the speech in hopes of urging lawmakers not to pass legislation that would defund Planned Parenthood.