Bachmann reveals "devastating" miscarriage
There was notable and powerful moment in last night's South Carolina town hall meeting with Michele Bachmann, when she revealed she once suffered a "devastating" miscarriage that she said changed her life and priorities.
"After our second was born, we became pregnant with a third baby. It was an unexpected baby, but of course we were delighted to have this child," Bachmann said told the crowd, in response to a question from an audience member. "The child was coming along and we ended up losing our child. And it was devastating to both of us, as you can imagine if any of you have lost a child."
CNN's Peter Hamby, who was at the event, reported that the audience of about 400 people was in "rapt" attention as Bachmann told the highly personal story.
"At that moment, we didn't think of ourselves as overly career-minded or overly materialistic but when we lost that child, it changed us, and it changed us forever," Bachmann said. "We made a commitment that no matter how many children were brought into our life, we would receive them because we are committed to life."
Politico's James Hohmann, also at the event (and estimated the crowd at 600 people), said Bachmann's highly personal revelation "marks another first for presidential politics," and was one that "could both humanize her and put a sharp point on her attacks on front runner Mitt Romney, whose position on abortion rights is often characterized as insufficiently conservative by the primary base."
